Are Pocket Rescissions Coming?

After rescinding $9.1 billion in State Department and public broadcasting funding last month, many Republican lawmakers are worried about blowback from cancelling more Federal dollars. But another mechanism for clawing back Federal funding may be on the way.

A "pocket rescission" is a tactic where a president proposes rescinding appropriated funds just before the end of the fiscal year, effectively bypassing Congress's 45-day review period before the funds expire. OMB Director Russ Vought has repeatedly discussed the possibility of the Trump Administration using pocket rescissions to free up funding, and we’re now in the window where using them would theoretically be viable for the White House.

But many lawmakers, as well as the Government Accountability Office, contend that pocket rescissions are illegal. Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said earlier this summer that “Pocket rescissions are illegal, in my judgment…and contradict the will of Congress and the constitutional authority of Congress to appropriate funds.” And Senate Majority Leader Thune (R-SD) said that he’d prefer to handle future cuts through the regular appropriations process.

With six weeks left until the end of FY25, lawmakers are staring down a government shutdown complicated by the possibility of pocket rescissions. The threat of the White House unilaterally canceling funding in October will undoubtedly strain negotiations between Republicans and Democrats as they attempt to avoid a shutdown. And if carried out, pocket rescissions would be a direct challenge to Congress’s power of the purse.

In addition to concerns about violating the Constitution, the potential to set a bad precedent is top of mind. If the Trump Administration does move forward with a pocket rescission this year, what’s stopping a future administration from doing the same with funding they deem unnecessary?

For Republicans, more rescission requests create an uncomfortable tension between pressure to align with the President and answering to constituents about continually dwindling Federal resources. For Democrats, a pocket rescission would likely be the nail in the coffin for bipartisan negotiations on appropriations.

Adding to this tension is the fact that the White House hasn’t clearly signaled exactly what or how much funding the Administration wants to cancel, though Department of Education funding would be a logical guess as the President continues to wind down the Department. Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) said he won’t support more rescission packages if the White House doesn’t provide account-level details of how funding would be cut. But from OMB’s point of view, the White House doesn’t need Congress’s sign-off.

In addition to high-level constitutional questions about separation of powers, whether the Trump Administration decides to employ pocket rescissions next month could have a massive impact on the FY26 budget and the likelihood of a government shutdown. And if statements made on the record during multiple congressional hearings about the President’s authority to use pocket rescissions are any indication, the likelihood that we see the White House try to unilaterally claw back funding is high.