Durbin Statement On Trump’s Illegal “Pocket Rescission” Of Nearly $1 Billion

Durbin Statement On Trump's Illegal "Pocket Rescission" Of Nearly $1 Billion

NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after President Trump announced that he has unilaterally rescinded nearly $1 billion in funds that Congress has already approved for education programs, health research, assistance for minority owned businesses, immigration services, and support to foreign countries:

"The illegal power grab by Donald Trump continues. The real question is whether my Republican colleagues will finally find their collective backbone and do something about it.

"Democrats fought for pocket rescission protection in the CR so this could never happen again, but Republicans refused-fearing retribution from the White House. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle might express anger now, but where were they this summer during these negotiations?

"Billion-dollar ballrooms are full speed ahead, but money for schools is cut. Vanity projects like the Golden Arch are a priority, but medical research for cancer cures is cut. Taxpayer funded political ads of the wartime President are a must, but medical care for children is cut."

President Trump's rescissions requests are made under a fast-tracked process, established in the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, in which a president can request that Congress rescind federal funding with a simple majority vote in each chamber. The law requires that, if Congress does not pass a bill rescinding the funding within 45 days, the president must release it.

However, President Trump is attempting an unlawful maneuver called "pocket rescissions," in which he seeks to rescind funding less than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year, believing this provides him with the power to cancel the funding with or without the approval of Congress. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has stated that pocket rescissions are illegal.

Last year, President Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid via a "pocket recission." And earlier in 2025, Republicans supported President Trump's recission request that clawed back $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcast funding that had been previously appropriated on a bipartisan basis.

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