Rare Maneuver Used to Cancel Aid

September 1st, 2025
Sharikkaa Shanker

This week, the Trump Administration abruptly canceled nearly $4.9 billion in US foreign aid, employing a rarely used budgetary maneuver that has left humanitarian organizations scrambling and lawmakers from both parties furious. The move, announced late Friday, represents one of the largest single cuts to US foreign assistance in decades, deepening the administration’s ongoing dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

President Donald Trump used a procedure known as a “pocket rescission” — a tool that effectively prevents Congress from acting on proposed funding before the fiscal year ends on September 30. Under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, presidents may propose rescinding funds, but Congress typically has 45 days to respond. By timing the move so late in the budget cycle, Trump ensured that the money would automatically lapse, bypassing congressional oversight. “This is unprecedented in modern budget history,” said one former Government Accountability Office (GAO) attorney. “Congress appropriated these funds, and the administration is unilaterally refusing to spend them. That raises serious constitutional questions.” The funding cancellation is only the latest blow to USAID, the country’s primary foreign development agency. Once a global leader in health, agriculture and humanitarian assistance, USAID has been in a state of rapid dismantlement since early 2025.

Reports indicate that nearly 83 percent of its programs have already been cut, with many of its remaining functions absorbed by the State Department. Staff layoffs and property sell-offs have accelerated in recent weeks, and the agency is now in what officials describe as a “closeout” phase. On Friday, Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a longtime critic of foreign aid spending, formally handed oversight of USAID’s shutdown to OMB Director Russ Vought, a sign that the agency’s independence has effectively ended.

The consequences of the canceled funding are already being felt worldwide. In northeast Nigeria, where USAID has long supported schools for children orphaned or displaced by Boko Haram militants, programs are shutting their doors. One school in Maiduguri was forced to dismiss 700 students and 20 teachers after losing support. “We had no choice,” said the head of the Future Prowess Islamic Foundation School. “Without USAID, we cannot continue to feed or teach the children.” Health experts warn that similar crises will unfold elsewhere. USAID funding has traditionally supported programs combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis; initiatives ensuring access to clean water; and food security projects in famine-prone regions. A recent Lancet study estimated that USAID’s closure could result in hundreds of thousands of additional deaths annually, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

“America’s withdrawal is not just a funding issue — it’s a lifeline issue,” said Dr. Amina Yusuf, a Nigerian public health researcher. “These cuts mean empty hospitals, untreated patients, and children without schools.” The move has triggered bipartisan anger on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers argue that Trump’s action violates the Constitution’s separation of powers.

“Congress, not the president, controls the purse strings,” said Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), the top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This maneuver undermines decades of precedent and damages America’s global leadership.”

Democratic leaders were even more forceful. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) accused the White House of “stealing from the world’s most vulnerable to fund political theater.” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-New York) said litigation was likely, calling the cuts “a blatant violation of the Impoundment Control Act.” Legal analysts agree that the administration could face lawsuits. The GAO has previously ruled similar withholding of funds to be unlawful. However, because the fiscal year ends in just a few weeks, critics worry that the aid money will expire before courts can intervene.

The rescission comes as Congress is locked in contentious negotiations over the federal budget, with a potential government shutdown looming at the end of September. Analysts say the foreign aid cuts may be part of a broader Trump strategy to rally his political base by emphasizing “America First” priorities. “Foreign aid has always been an easy target politically,” said Laura Kupe, a fellow at the German Marshall Fund. “The administration is framing this as fighting globalism, but in reality, these cuts weaken U.S. influence abroad and open space for rivals like China and Russia to step in.”

With USAID in its final stages of dismantlement, the future of US development assistance is uncertain. Some functions will likely continue under the State Department or international NGOs, but experts say the absence of a central American aid agency will leave gaps too large to fill. International partners are already adjusting. European Union officials said they are preparing emergency funding packages to offset the loss of US support in African health and education programs. The United Nations World Food Programme, one of USAID’s largest partners, announced it will cut food rations in several refugee camps beginning next month.

Meanwhile, domestic legal challenges are expected to mount in the coming weeks, though even a successful court ruling may not reverse the immediate loss of funds.