OAN Staff Blake Wolf
11:40 AM – Friday, August 29, 2025
President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to scrap approximately $4.9 billion in previously approved foreign aid using a little-known maneuver called “pocket rescission,” a move that has drawn praise from his “America First” supporters.
The procedure, which hasn’t been used in nearly 50 years, will be invoked to claw back spending allocated mainly for foreign aid.
The Trump administration is reportedly working to cancel $3.2 billion in funding to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), $322 million from the USAID-State Department Democracy Fund, $521 million in State Department contributions to international organizations, $393 million in State Department contributions for “peacekeeping activities,” and $445 million in separate peacekeeping aid, according to the New York Post.
The pocket rescission allows the 47th president to propose a rescission of funds late in the fiscal year, which does not allow Congress sufficient time to act on the request — effectively preventing the funds from being spent without a Congressional vote.
The proposed spending cuts the Trump administration deems wasteful include $24.6 million in “climate resilience” for Honduras, $3.9 million to the Western Balkans to “promote democracy” among LGBTQ individuals, and $2.7 million for the South African Democracy Works Foundation, which previously promoted racist articles such as “The Problem with White People,” among others.
The peacekeeping funds amount to around $838 million and includes support for United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces in areas such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to The Post.
In response, Democrats have slammed the move, arguing that President Trump’s decision to slide by Congressional approval represents a violation of the law, and could hurt bipartisan efforts to avoid a government shutdown.
“Republicans don’t have to be a rubber stamp for this carnage,” stated Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). “If Republicans are insistent on going it alone, Democrats won’t be party to their destruction.”
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) has since called on Republicans to reject the Trump administration’s “brazen attempt to usurp their own power,” while arguing that White House Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russell Vought is utilizing an illegal tactic as “some sort of get-out-of-jail free card for this administration to simply not spend investments Congress has made.”
The White House OMB released a statement on Friday, stating: “Congress can choose to vote to rescind or continue the funds – it doesn’t really matter.”
Some analysts argue that the move is likely to face legal challenges from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). However, OMB Director Russ Vought and General Counsel Mark Paoletta previously noted prior cases of use of pocket rescissions, which were made “without objection” from the GAO.
They contend that the ICA allows the president to withhold funds until their expiration date if Congress does not act within 45 days of a rescission request.
“Carter sent several rescission proposals to Congress in July of 1977. Funds from two of those proposals lapsed on September 30, 1977, in one case prior to the expiration of the 45-day ICA withholding period, and in another case five days after the withholding period ended,” Paoletta previously wrote to the GAO in 2018.
Additionally, Secretary of State Marco Rubio released a Truth Social post on Friday approving the move.
“I joked with @realDonaldTrump that I had four jobs. He told me to give one to my friend Russ Vought. So I did. Since January, we’ve saved the taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. And with a small set of core programs moved over to the State Department, USAID is officially in close out mode. Russ is now at the helm to oversee the closeout of an agency that long ago went off the rails. Congrats, Russ,” Rubio wrote.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news alerts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts
What do YOU think? Click here to jump to the comments!Sponsored Content Below