• Trump has canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid previously approved by Congress.
• This marks the first use of a pocket rescission by a president in nearly 50 years.
• The move has drawn criticism from lawmakers, including both Democrats and Republicans.
• Senator Susan Collins and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer expressed legal and procedural concerns.
• This decision could potentially lead to a government shutdown at the end of September.

President Donald Trump has taken the unprecedented step of canceling $4.9 billion in foreign aid that had already received congressional approval. Using a tactic known as pocket rescission, Trump informed House Speaker Mike Johnson that he would refrain from distributing funds allocated for 15 international programs, primarily managed by the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which his administration has aimed to downsize significantly, according to SCMP and Reuters.

The pocket rescission process, which allows the president to request the cancellation of approved funds late in the fiscal year, ensures that Congress has only 45 days to act before the funds lapse at the end of September. This practice is exceedingly rare; the last instance recorded was under President Jimmy Carter in 1977, as noted by CBS News and LA Times.

Trump's unilateral action has sparked significant backlash from both sides of the aisle. Senator Susan Collins, the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, labeled the rescission as "unlawful," arguing that it undermines Congress's authority over funding matters, as reported by Newsweek and Reuters.

Furthermore, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested that this move could lead to a government shutdown. He remarked that Republicans should not simply support Trump's approach, warning of dire consequences for bipartisan cooperation and highlighting Trump's intention to disregard legislative mandates, according to India Times and BBC.

Legal experts have expressed concerns that this tactic could shift significant spending power from Congress to the executive branch, challenging the constitutional balance intended by the framers of the U.S. governmental system, as highlighted by Al Jazeera and Reuters.