Watchdog says Trump's $810 million funding cancel was unlawful
A federal watchdog says President Trump broke the law by holding back $810 million that Congress approved until the money ran out. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who leads the Senate's spending panel, agreed. The finding has no direct penalty, but it sets up a fight over who controls federal money.
Congress's nonpartisan watchdog has ruled against the White House in a fight over $810 million in federal spending. The Government Accountability Office said the administration's "pocket rescission," sent to Congress on Sept. 25, was unlawful, The Hill and GAO's own review reported.
Here is how it worked. Under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, a president can ask Congress to cancel money it already approved, and can hold the funds for 45 days while lawmakers decide. The administration sent its request just days before the fiscal year ended on Sept. 30. Because the money expired before Congress could vote, the request worked as a cancellation without approval. That timing is what gives the tactic the name "pocket rescission."
GAO said the law allows only temporary withholding while Congress considers a request. It does not let a president force money to expire. In plain terms, the watchdog said a president cannot let funds lapse that Congress approved and never canceled.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the move unlawful. In a statement, she said the budget office withheld funds to cancel money Congress approved without warning or consultation.
The White House argues that the president has a duty to stop wasteful spending and that the law allows the move. The administration made a similar $4.9 billion pocket rescission of foreign aid in August 2025.
Some history: Congress passed the 1974 law after President Richard Nixon refused to spend money it had approved. Before last year, no president had tried a pocket rescission in decades.
GAO's findings are not binding court rulings. But they carry weight with lawmakers, and they could shape the next spending fight, which arrives when the current funding law expires on Dec. 11.
What we know: GAO and Collins both say the $810 million move broke the law.
What we don't: Whether anyone will sue, or whether Congress will respond before December.
Where outlets agree The Hill and Sen. Collins's office both report that GAO found the $810 million pocket rescission unlawful under the Impoundment Control Act.
Where they differ The White House says the president can stop wasteful spending this way, while GAO and Collins say only Congress can cancel money it approved.