Release Date 
08/29/2025

Republican Susan Collins said that President Donald Trump's retraction of $4.9 billion in congressionally approved foreign aid is "unlawful" after the president effectively cut the budget without going through the legislative branch.

Collins, Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, wrote in a statement, in part, "...GAO [Government Accountability Office] has concluded that this type of rescission is unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act ... Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law."

Trump, in a letter sent Thursday to House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, invoked what's known as a pocket rescission — a rarely used maneuver in which the president asks Congress to withhold approved funds near the end of the fiscal year. Because lawmakers have 45 days to respond, the request effectively ensures the money will lapse unspent. It is the first time in nearly five decades that a president has used the tool, with the fiscal year ending September 30.

The White House Office of Management and Budget posted the letter Friday morning on X, saying the $4.9 billion in cuts would come from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), long among Trump's primary targets for reducing foreign aid.