The White House has informed Congress it intends to cancel $4.9 billion that lawmakers approved for foreign aid programs, invoking a little-known and legally untested power to slash spending without their approval.
The 15-page notification, sent to Congress on Thursday night and reviewed by The New York Times, is the administration’s first effort to push through what is known as a “pocket rescission.” It is an effort to unilaterally claw back money that has already been appropriated by waiting so late in the fiscal year to make the request that lawmakers do not have time to reject it before the funding expires.
Who cares what Congress thinks this will be all good for Americans.
