White House Announces Pocket Rescissions

What happened:
Last Friday, President Trump announced “pocket rescissions” of $810 million in funds previously appropriated for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of Justice (DOJ). The largest claw back included $567 million for immigration and refugee services under HHS, with more rescissions to programs for foreign students, climate change, minority business development, LGBTQ groups, and DEI.

The action is legally questionable: The White House claimed authority to make the rescissions under the Impoundment Control Act, which President Trump used last year to claw back $4.9 billion in foreign aid programs. Senator Susan Collins (R-ME), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, called the move “the most recent attempt … to undermine Congress’s Constitutional power of the purse” and argued that the Government Accountability Office “has concluded that pocket rescissions are unlawful and not permitted by the Impoundment Control Act.” The U.S. Supreme Court allowed the 2025 rescissions to proceed but noted that the “order should not be read as a final determination on the merits.”

Why it matters:
Most of the canceled money flows to nonprofits. The $567 million in HHS funds supports organizations serving refugees, asylees, and other immigrants, and other cuts reach HUD housing counseling, minority health, and migrant education programs. The move also sets a precedent: an administration can hold congressionally approved funds until the final weeks of the fiscal year and then cancel them, leaving grantees with no time to plan. Pennsylvania nonprofits providing refugee resettlement, legal services, housing counseling, and equity-focused programming should check whether any current or expected awards draw on these accounts.

Where things stand:
A formal congressional response would be challenging. Congress normally has 45 days to review a rescission request, but the fiscal year ends September 30 and the House of Representatives is out of session until November, so the funds effectively expire before Congress can act. Legal challenges are possible. PANO will share updates as the response develops.

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Photo by Syed F Hashemi from Unsplash.