Senate Appropriations Chair Collins Labels White House Rescission “Unlawful” Amid Shutdown Threat

WASHINGTON, Sept. 1, 2025 - Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) today condemned the Trump administration’s move to retract $4.9 billion in foreign aid without congressional approval, calling the “pocket rescission” an “unlawful” tactic that raises the risk of a government shutdown.

In a statement released as the Senate returned from its month-long August recess, Collins warned that bypassing the annual appropriations process undermines congressional authority and complicates urgent efforts to fund the government ahead of the Sept. 30 deadline. “Any attempt to revoke allocated funds without congressional approval is a blatant violation of the law,” she said. “Rather than undermining the law, we should be exploring ways to curb excessive spending through the bipartisan annual appropriations process. Congress regularly approves rescissions as part of this process. Indeed, the current funding bill includes 70 rescissions. The annual funding bill is the most fitting means to ensure any rescissions align with congressional perspectives”.

The White House’s plan to withdraw funds follows two GOP-backed rescissions packages this summer targeting global aid programs and public broadcasting. Democrats and appropriators have vowed legal challenges, arguing that only Congress may amend or rescind funding once enacted. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) denounced the move as a “blatant power grab” and called for bipartisan talks immediately upon return.

Collins’s remarks come as Senate Republicans face a packed agenda: passing a stopgap funding measure, advancing the National Defense Authorization Act, and navigating rule changes to expedite confirmations of President Trump’s nominees. With only four weeks before a potential shutdown, lawmakers have signaled deep partisan divides over both funding strategy and oversight authority in appropriations.