President Donald Trump has decided not to allocate $4.9 billion in approved foreign aid, utilizing a strategy known as “pocket recission” for the first time in five decades. This tactic involves submitting a request to Congress near the end of the fiscal year to withhold already approved funds. By doing so, Congress cannot act on the request within the 45-day timeframe, resulting in the unspent allocation. The fiscal year concludes at the end of September.
The last instance of pocket recission occurred in 1977 under then-President Jimmy Carter. The Trump administration asserts that this approach is legally permissible. If widely adopted by the White House, this method could potentially circumvent Congress on critical spending decisions and potentially shift some spending control away from the House and the Senate.