The Trump administration sent Congress a request to cancel $810 million in federal funding on September 25, 2026.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 93%
The Lawfare PodcastOct 8, 2026
… and cohost emeritus Benjamin Wittes, Lawfare Senior Editor Molly Roberts, and Vice President and Director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution Molly Reynolds to talk through the week’s big news in national security, including: “Pocket Change.” Late on Friday, September 25, the White House sent Congress an $810 million “pocket rescission”—a request to cancel already-appropriated federal funding, timed so the money will expire at the end of the fiscal year on September 30, before the 45 days Congress has to review the rescission request. …
Multiple reliable sources, including AP, Reuters, the GAO-related reporting, and an Oregon/California AG complaint, report that the White House sent Congress a special message on September 25, 2026 seeking to rescind $810 million (11 rescissions) in already-appropriated funds.
What we found
Supports. The Special Message to Congress, dated the same day, purports to 'report 11 rescissions of budget authority, totaling $810 million,' sent on September 25, 2026.[3]
Supports. AP reports the White House announced on Friday (September 25) that it was canceling nearly $1 billion in congressionally approved spending, with the rescission request sent to Congress.[1]
Supports. Reuters reports that on Friday, September 25, Trump sought to unilaterally withhold more than $800 million in Congress-approved spending through a pocket rescission.[2]
Supports. GAO's September 29 letter, as reported by The Hill and Becker's, refers to the President's September 25, 2026 special message to Congress proposing the $810 million rescission.[4][5]
Context. Ballotpedia and the American Action Forum both state that the September 25 request proposed 11 budget authority cuts totaling $810 million sent to Speaker Johnson.[6][7]
Sources
7 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 1 tier 1, 3 not rated
- 1Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back $1B ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 2Trump seeks to withhold $800 million in Congress-approved fundsreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: supports
- 3[PDF] 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ...oag.ca.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 4Government watchdog asserts Donald Trump's $810 million ...thehill.com · tier 1 · cited for: supports
- 5Government watchdog pushes back on Trump's plan to ...beckershospitalreview.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 6Trump administration uses pocket rescission power for ...news.ballotpedia.org · not rated · cited for: context
- 7The $810 Million Pocket Rescissions Request: What It Would Cut ...americanactionforum.org · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The White House sent Congress an $810 million pocket rescission request on September 25.True
- The Trump administration requested a pocket rescission of $810 million in federal funding.True
- The Trump administration performed a pocket rescission of $800 million across multiple programs.True
- In August 2025, the Trump administration proposed a rescission of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which Congress approved.Mixed
- The Trump administration has been canceling grants and using other tools to avoid spending money it does not want to spend.True