OMB nominee ‘can’t commit’ to forgoing ‘pocket rescissions’ funding gambit this year

Hal Duncan, President Trump’s nominee for deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, stated he cannot guarantee the administration will not use 'pocket rescissions' to unilaterally cancel funding without Congressional approval this year. Duncan defended the practice during Senate testimony, noting prior administrations have used it, while the Trump administration previously canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid through this method, a tactic the Supreme Court allowed last fall but whose legality remains unresolved.