Collins calls pocket rescissions unlawful, eyes ban
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins labeled the White House’s $810 million pocket-rescissions package unlawful and said appropriators are exploring a ban. A judge temporarily paused nearly $56 million in HUD housing-counseling cuts. No broader TRO, ban bill, or White House withdrawal cleared overnight.
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) called the Trump administration’s $810 million pocket-rescissions package “unlawful” and said she will work with colleagues to address it, according to her Sept. 25 committee statement. Collins said the Office of Management and Budget withheld funds for months to cancel bipartisan appropriations “without warning or consultation,” calling the delay itself an unreported impoundment and a usurpation of Congress’s power of the purse. She cited Government Accountability Office conclusions that pocket rescissions are not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act.
The Washington Examiner reported Collins is exploring ban language in the next spending package. NBC News reported Collins called the move unlawful and said she would work with colleagues to address it, and that the White House listed about $56 million in housing-counseling aid among the cuts. Sen. Lisa Murkowski called the maneuver “sneaky”; Sen. John Cornyn said he doubts presidential authority to rescind the funds; Sen. James Lankford declined to call the move unlawful. Majority Leader John Thune said courts will likely decide. House appropriator Andrew Clyde praised the cuts as targeting “woke and wasteful” programs.
Separately, Real Estate News reported nonprofits sued HUD after nearly $56 million in congressionally allocated housing-counseling grants were pulled Sept. 25—most of a $58 million pot—and a federal judge temporarily paused those cuts Sept. 30. HUD said the Impoundment Control Act lets the president align spending with policy; Consumer Federation of America called the rescission abandonment of families facing high housing costs. Democrats’ earlier August attempt to ban pocket rescissions was blocked by Republicans.
Overnight, no multi-outlet report showed a broader nationwide TRO, enacted ban bill, or White House withdrawal of the $810 million package. For local housing counselors and grantees, the stake is whether paused dollars stay online. Watch appropriations markups and the HUD litigation calendar.
What we know:
Collins brands the $810M package unlawful and is exploring a ban; ~$56M HUD housing-counseling cuts are under a temporary court pause; no broader overnight resolution.
What we don’t:
Whether ban language can clear 60 Senate votes, how the HUD suit ends, or if OMB expands further year-end cancellations.
Where outlets agree Collins’s Appropriations release, the Washington Examiner, and Real Estate News agree the White House used pocket rescissions on hundreds of millions—including paused HUD housing-counseling dollars—and Collins calls the practice unlawful.
Where they differ Collins and some GOP appropriators say the cancellations usurp Congress while other Republicans and HUD defend them as lawful policy alignment under the Impoundment Control Act.