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Trump moves to cancel $810 million through pocket rescission; Collins calls it unlawful

The package, sent to Congress days before the fiscal year ends, targets refugee services, international education grants and housing counseling. Lawmakers in both parties objected.

Motion Media News Staff

Sep 25, 2026

3 minutes

The white dome of the U.S. Capitol against a blue sky.

Photo: Architect of the Capitol (Public domain), via Wikimedia Commons (source)

The White House moved Friday, Sept. 25, to cancel about $810 million in spending that Congress had approved, using a pocket rescission sent to lawmakers days before the fiscal year ends on Sept. 30.

In its announcement, the White House described the package as "nearly $1 billion" of "the most harmful government spending." The itemized amounts it listed add up to $810 million, the figure cited by NBC News and by Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins.

What is being cut

The largest item is $567 million in Health and Human Services funding for services to refugees, asylees and other noncitizens, which the White House said is no longer needed because border crossings have fallen. Other items include $70 million in international education grants and fellowships, $56 million for Housing and Urban Development housing counseling, and smaller amounts for Homeland Security immigrant services grants, minority health and business development programs, and the Justice Department's Community Relations Service, according to the White House and CBS News.

A letter signed by the president, obtained by NBC, said the cuts affect the Departments of Commerce, Education, HHS, Homeland Security, HUD and Justice, as well as international assistance programs.

How a pocket rescission works

The Impoundment Control Act lets a president withhold funds for 45 days while Congress considers a request to cancel them. When the request arrives within 45 days of the fiscal year's end, the money can expire before lawmakers act, The Hill explained. The administration argues the 45-day process cannot be followed in that window. The Government Accountability Office has concluded pocket rescissions are unlawful, The Hill reported. NBC noted the House will not be back in session until after the November midterms.

The administration used the same tactic in 2025 on billions in foreign aid, and the Supreme Court allowed that money to lapse without ruling on the merits, CBS reported.

Reaction

Collins, a Maine Republican, said the Office of Management and Budget "intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation" and that OMB "does not get to decide which programs are worth funding." She said she would work with colleagues to respond.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, the committee's top Democrat, called it a "theft from the American people." Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would challenge the cuts.