GAO reasserts pocket rescissions’ illegality after Trump uses tactic to cancel nearly $1B
Summary
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that President Trump’s action to cancel $810 million in federal funding using a method called "pocket rescission" was not legal. The GAO said this violates a law from 1974 that controls how the president can delay or cancel spending approved by Congress.Key Facts
- President Trump used a "pocket rescission" to try to cancel $810 million in federal government funding.
- The GAO, a government watchdog group, said this action was illegal.
- The issue relates to the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which sets rules for how presidents can control federal spending.
- The GAO’s lead attorney, Edda Emmanuelli Perez, wrote a letter explaining why the cancellation was against the law.
- The law requires that the president submit rescission proposals to Congress and wait for their approval to cancel funds.
- "Pocket rescission" means canceling funds without Congress’s approval by using a timing rule.
- The GAO reaffirmed that this method cannot be used to bypass Congress’s power of the purse.
- This situation involves federal budgeting and government spending rules.
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