GAO says Trump cannot let $800 million in approved spending expire

The White House moved to withhold 11 accounts

On September 25, President Donald Trump sent Congress a special message proposing rescissions from 11 appropriation accounts, and the Office of Management and Budget directed agencies to withhold the proposed amounts. AP and Reuters described the total as more than $800 million. The funds were scheduled to expire at the end of fiscal year 2026 on September 30. [1][3][4]

The administration said the targeted programs were wasteful or inconsistent with its policies. Reuters reported that they included refugee assistance, racial-minority business development and overseas conservation. AP identified additional targets including services for unaccompanied minors, migrant-student education, racial-tension reduction and housing counseling. [3][4]

What GAO decided

The Government Accountability Office concluded on September 29 that the Impoundment Control Act does not permit the president to withhold the money past its expiration date. GAO said all 11 accounts would expire before the statutory congressional-review period could end, which its preliminary calculation placed no earlier than November 9. [1][3]

Under the act, a president may propose that Congress cancel appropriated funds and may temporarily withhold the corresponding amounts while Congress considers the request. But unless Congress enacts a rescission, GAO said the funds must be made available for obligation; timing the request so the money expires would bypass Congress's constitutional power of the purse. [1][2][3]

A legal ruling, but not the last possible word

GAO is Congress's independent, nonpartisan audit and legal-review agency. Its decision is an official interpretation of the Impoundment Control Act, not a court judgment ordering the executive branch to release a specific payment. AP reported that Senate Majority Leader John Thune expected the issue to be litigated. [1][3]

A year earlier, the administration used the same late-year mechanism to block $4.9 billion in foreign aid. AP said the Supreme Court declined to stop that withholding while litigation continued; that interim action did not convert every future pocket rescission into lawful executive authority. Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic lawmakers both objected to the new maneuver, though for different political and legislative reasons. [3][4][2]

Who is affected and what remains unknown

The immediate stakes include agencies and service providers relying on the expiring funds, and people served by refugee and unaccompanied-minor programs, migrant education, housing counseling and minority-business initiatives. The proposed rescission does not itself prove that every named program stopped operating; the practical effect depends on whether agencies release and obligate the funds before expiration. [3][4][1]

The reviewed sources do not establish how much of each account had already been obligated, whether the administration will comply with GAO's conclusion or which plaintiff would bring any court challenge. Those implementation questions may determine whether Congress's appropriations produce services or lapse despite the decision. [1][3]

How the sources compare