The White House sent Congress an $810 million pocket rescission request on September 25.
Posted by The Lawfare Podcast, Checked
- Sources
- 5 support
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 93%
The Lawfare PodcastOct 8, 2026
Multiple independent sources, including AP reporting on a GAO review, a California attorney general complaint quoting the Special Message, and Ballotpedia, confirm that on September 25, 2026 the White House sent Congress a special message seeking rescission of $810 million in appropriated funds.
What was said
… Thanks for having me. Awesome. Well, we have a couple of big news stories, including Molly Reynolds' favorite phrase, pocket rescissions, coming up in this week's discussion, so let us get to it. Topic one this week: pocket change. Late on Friday, September 25, the White House sent Congress an 810,000,000 dollar pocket rescission, a request to cancel already appropriated federal funding, time 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 ends, essentially, at least in the view of the White …
The Lawfare Podcast · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. The California AG complaint, citing the Federal Register and the Special Message attached as Exhibit A, states that on September 25, 2026 President Trump sent Congress a special message reporting 11 rescissions totaling $810 million.[3]
Supports. AP reports that the president announced his intention on Friday night to impound more than $800 million from 11 appropriations accounts, and that a GAO review was sent to lawmakers and Vice President Vance.[1]
Supports. The Washington Examiner reports that on Sept. 25 the White House sent Speaker Mike Johnson a letter reporting 11 rescissions totaling $810 million, a pocket rescission.[4]
Supports. Ballotpedia reports that on September 25 Trump sent Speaker Johnson a letter informing him the administration would not spend $810 million appropriated for fiscal year 2026.[5]
Supports. Reuters, a tier1 wire service, reports that on Sept 25 Trump sought to withhold more than $800 million in Congress-approved spending, which is consistent with the $810 million figure.[2]
Sources
5 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 2 not rated
- 1Watchdog says Trump can't cancel more than $800M in spending ...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
- 4Washington's new budget shortcut is a time bombwashingtonexaminer.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 5Trump administration uses pocket rescission power for ...news.ballotpedia.org · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 1 published post
Related claims
- The Trump administration sent Congress a request to cancel $810 million in federal funding on September 25, 2026.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
- The current pocket rescission involves $800 million in funds.True
- The Trump administration is using the rescission process to refuse expenditures that Congress has directed.True