Trump’s ‘Pocket Rescission’ Mocks the Constitution, Pushes Us Towards Shutdown
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Trump is planning to scrap $5 billion appropriated by Congress for foreign aid by illegally failing to spend the funds by using an unlawful maneuver as “pocket rescission,” in yet another dictatorial display of power.
In response, Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“The administration has now released its pocket rescission’ package and, in doing so, demonstrated yet again its contempt for Congress’s power of the purse and the Constitution’s separation of powers.
“With this Constitution-mocking action, the administration is bringing us closer to a shutdown on September 30, and it doesn’t seem to care. We call on Congress to push back, pass and abide by appropriations packages, and fight the administration’s illegal impoundments that harm regular Americans.
“This is not just a constitutional crisis, it’s a matter of global justice. The congressionally appropriated funds that the Trump administration illegally aims to cancel support economic development programs to empower the world’s most vulnerable and impoverished, and address some of the ravage of catastrophic climate change in developing nations.”