President Donald Trump moved to cut another $4.9 billion in foreign aid spending through an executive maneuver last used nearly 50 years ago.
In a Thursday letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), which was posted on social media on Friday, Trump stated that he is clawing back funding from programs run by the State Department, the United States Agency for International Development, and International Assistance Programs. Much of the funding is related to programs pushing climate and gender activism.
The cuts will be carried out through a pocket rescission—a process allowing the president to revoke previously approved spending just before the fiscal year ends, leaving Congress no time to reauthorize the funds under federal law. Any future funding would require separate congressional approval.
On a background call with The Daily Wire, a White House official said a pocket rescission was a tool that the Trump administration had “dusted off.”
“Last night, President Trump CANCELLED $4.9 billion in America Last foreign aid using a pocket rescission,” the Office of Management and Budget posted on X on Friday. “[President Trump] will always put AMERICA FIRST!”
???? Last night, President Trump CANCELLED $4.9 billion in America Last foreign aid using a pocket rescission.@POTUS will always put AMERICA FIRST! pic.twitter.com/1DvXYGdy3B
— Office of Management and Budget (@WHOMB) August 29, 2025
Secretary of State Marco Rubio applauded the move from Trump.
“Since assuming office, President Trump has been committed to rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse from the U.S. government, saving American workers billions of dollars,” Rubio said. “Now, for the first time in 50 years, the President is using his authority under the Impoundment Control Act to deploy a pocket rescission, cancelling $5 billion in foreign aid and international organization funding that violates the President’s America First priorities.”
Rubio said that some of the programs that were cancelled included $2.7 million for “inclusive democracy” in South Africa and $4 million for “global LGBTQI+ awareness”
“None of these programs are in America’s interest, which is why the President is taking decisive action to put America and Americans first,” Rubio said.
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A White House official added that the cuts also included hundreds of millions of dollars in climate projects, such as building a greenhouse gas calculator, promoting vegan food in Zambia, developing insect powder for children in Madagascar, and purchasing electric buses in Rwanda.
There is an ongoing legal battle over the use of “pocket recissions,” and some lawmakers have argued that the move is unconstitutional.
“Given that this package was sent to Congress very close to the end of the fiscal year when the funds are scheduled to expire, this is an apparent attempt to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval,” Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) said, joining Senate Democrats who spoke out against the move. “Any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”
A White House official said Friday afternoon that they believed it had “a very firm legal footing” to make the cuts, and that “we will be making that case.”