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Gone quiet · last update Sep 25, 2026 / Donald Trump

Trump's clawbacks of money Congress approved, from NPR and PBS to foreign aid

Overview · reviewed October 28, 2026

President Donald Trump has repeatedly moved to cancel or withhold money Congress approved. In July 2025 Congress passed his request to rescind about $9 billion, including $1.1 billion for public broadcasting that supports PBS and NPR, and foreign aid.[1][2] In September 2025 the Supreme Court let him freeze $4 billion in foreign aid,[3] and in September 2026 he canceled nearly $1 billion more through a "pocket" rescission, his second, which the Government Accountability Office said he could not withhold past the end of the fiscal year.[4][5]

Read the timeline

Follow this story to see new developments when you return.

In September 2025 the Supreme Court let him freeze $4 billion in foreign aid,[3] and in September 2026 he canceled nearly $1 billion more through a "pocket" rescission, his second, which the Government Accountability Office said he could not withhold past the end of the fiscal year.[4][5]

Coverage over time

Share of tracked outlets · weekly (UTC)

Week of 2025-02-10 (UTC): 10%, 21 of 214 tracked outlets (7 left, 12 center, 2 right)Week of 2025-02-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-02-24 (UTC): 10%, 19 of 197 tracked outlets (3 left, 11 center, 5 right)Week of 2025-03-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-03-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-04-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-05-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-02 (UTC): 3%, 6 of 189 tracked outlets (3 left, 0 center, 3 right)Week of 2025-06-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-06-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-14 (UTC): 29%, 53 of 184 tracked outlets (21 left, 25 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-07-21 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-07-28 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-08-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-08 (UTC): 8%, 18 of 214 tracked outlets (4 left, 7 center, 7 right)Week of 2025-09-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-09-22 (UTC): 13%, 25 of 189 tracked outlets (4 left, 13 center, 8 right)Week of 2025-09-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-10-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-11-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2025-12-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-01-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-02-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-16 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-23 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-03-30 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-04-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-04 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-11 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-18 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-05-25 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-01 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-08 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-15 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-22 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-06-29 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-06 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-13 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-20 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-07-27 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-03 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-10 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-17 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-24 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-08-31 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-07 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-14 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-09-21 (UTC): 8%, 40 of 479 tracked outlets (8 left, 21 center, 11 right)Week of 2026-09-28 (UTC): 1%, 6 of 476 tracked outlets (3 left, 2 center, 1 right)Week of 2026-10-05 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-12 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-19 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-10-26 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-02 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outletsWeek of 2026-11-09 (UTC): no coverage from tracked outlets, so far

LeftCenterRightLighter bar: this week so far

Each bar is the share of the outlets on our Left / Center / Right rating scale that we tracked publishing that week which carried reporting on this story, split by the outlets' ratings. We track more outlets now than in the archive, so a share keeps earlier and later weeks comparable. An outlet counts once a week however much it published, and outlets in one ownership or syndication group count as one on each side they appear on. A rating describes the outlet, not the report. A gap means no such reports were collected that week, not that nothing was reported anywhere. Weeks run Monday to Sunday in UTC, so a report published on a Sunday evening in US Eastern time counts in the next week. 6 more outlets off the scale (not rated, or outside the left-right graphs) also reported; they are not in this chart. See them.

Weekly counts, outlets and reports (8 weeks with coverage)
Outlets on the rating scale that carried this story each week, of the outlets tracked that week, newest first
Week of (UTC)LeftCenterRightOf trackedShareReceipts
Sep 28, 20263216 of 4761%
Sep 21, 20268211140 of 4798%
Sep 22, 2025413825 of 18913%
Sep 8, 202547718 of 2148%
Jul 14, 20252125753 of 18429%
Jun 2, 20253036 of 1893%
Feb 24, 2025311519 of 19710%
Feb 10, 2025712221 of 21410%

Latest coverage

The newest reporting in this story's record.

  1. Sep 25, 2026 · first reported · Headline from Deseret News

    Federal watchdog: Trump canceling $810 million in government funding was unconstitutional

Background

Early in 2025 a three-week freeze on foreign aid shut down US aid and development work around the world until a federal judge ordered it temporarily lifted,[6] and Chief Justice John Roberts paused a lower-court deadline to unfreeze $2 billion.[7] In June the White House asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in approved spending targeted by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.[8] The Senate advanced the request over some members' concerns[9] and passed the cuts 51-48,[2] and the House approved them after midnight on July 18.[1]

In September 2025 Trump asked the Supreme Court to step back into the fight over foreign aid,[10] and it allowed him to freeze $4 billion in payments.[3] A year later he used a pocket rescission, a request sent too late for Congress to act before the money expires, to cancel nearly $1 billion,[4] and the GAO said he was not permitted to withhold more than $800 million beyond the fiscal year's end.[5]

Supporting stories (10)
  1. House gives final approval to Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting, foreign aid
  2. PBS and NPR Funding Face “Devastating” Cut as Rescission Package Heads to Trump’s Desk
  3. Supreme Court allows Trump to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid
  4. Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back nearly $1B in spending approved by Congress
  5. Watchdog says Trump can’t cancel more than $800M in spending approved by Congress
  6. Judge orders Trump administration to temporarily reinstate foreign aid funding
  7. Supreme Court, for now, blocks order for Trump administration to release billions in US foreign aid
  8. Trump formally asks Congress to claw back approved spending targeted by DOGE
  9. Senate advances Trump’s request for $9 billion in spending cuts
  10. Supreme Court allows Trump to temporarily withhold nearly $5B in foreign aid payments

The full record

Each date is when an update was first reported.

All 10 recorded updates

September 2026

  1. Watchdog says Trump can’t cancel more than $800M in spending approved by CongressHeadline from WTOP Washington DC · 24 outlets
  2. Trump administration uses rare authority to claw back nearly $1B in spending approved by CongressHeadline from MyNorthwest · 22 outlets

September 2025

  1. Supreme Court allows Trump to withhold $4 billion in foreign aidHeadline from NPR · 27 outlets
  2. Supreme Court allows Trump to temporarily withhold nearly $5B in foreign aid paymentsHeadline from New York Post · 20 outlets

July 2025

  1. PBS and NPR Funding Face “Devastating” Cut as Rescission Package Heads to Trump’s DeskHeadline from The Hollywood Reporter · 14 outlets
  2. House gives final approval to Trump’s $9 billion cut to public broadcasting, foreign aidHeadline from Foxla · 46 outlets
  3. Senate advances Trump’s request for $9 billion in spending cutsHeadline from NBC Chicago · 14 outlets

June 2025

  1. Trump formally asks Congress to claw back approved spending targeted by DOGEHeadline from MyNorthwest · 6 outlets

February 2025

  1. Supreme Court, for now, blocks order for Trump administration to release billions in US foreign aidHeadline from News West 9 · 20 outlets
  2. Judge orders Trump administration to temporarily reinstate foreign aid fundingHeadline from NBC 6 South Florida · 22 outlets

Coverage & sources

Read the reports, see how much was collected over time, or compare outlets by political leaning.

Coverage & sources →