GAO Again Rules Trump's $810M Pocket Rescission Unlawful
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said on Tuesday that President Trump's decision to cancel $810 million in federal funding through a "pocket rescission" was illegal, restating a position it has taken before.
In a letter addressed to congressional leaders, the agency's lead attorney, Edda Emmanuelli Perez, wrote that the rescission proposals in the President's September 25, 2026, special message to Congress "do not permit the President to withhold the appropriations" under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (ICA).
"The Constitution vests in Congress the power of the purse, and Congress did not cede this important power through the ICA," the letter said. "The ICA permits only the temporary withholding of budget authority and provides that unless Congress rescinds the amounts at issue, they must be made available for obligation."
Emmanuelli Perez further argued that holding back appropriated funds past their expiration date "subverts both the constitutional process for enacting federal law and Congress's constitutional power of the purse."
"The President may not force the expiration of budget authority Congress has already enacted and did not rescind," she added.
The funds Trump sought to cancel were mainly for Health and Human Services (HHS) programs that serve undocumented immigrants and unaccompanied children in court.
The President used the pocket rescission tactic, which involves asking Congress to cancel already approved funding near the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, effectively freezing the money so it is unlikely to be spent.
This is not the first time the GAO has weighed in on the practice. Last year, when Trump initially used it to cancel foreign aid, the agency concluded it was not legal, though it did not file a lawsuit.
In 2025, the Supreme Court allowed Trump to use a pocket rescission, stating at that early stage that the government had made a sufficient showing that the lawsuit was precluded under the ICA and that the plaintiffs could not force the federal government to pay the funds.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russell Vought responded to the GAO's latest finding on social media Tuesday, saying it was "not a surprise."
"GAO has become hyper partisan and Congress recently attempted to cut their spending because of it," Vought wrote. He also accused the GAO of shifting its position "based on whether Democrats are in the White House."
The White House, when asked for comment, pointed to Vought's statement.
When the proposal was first announced, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, quickly called the process "unlawful."
Other Republicans on the Senate Appropriations Committee shared her view and are working with Collins to oppose the rescissions, with possible guardrails against the process being considered for inclusion in upcoming appropriations bills.
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