White House uses a "pocket rescission" to let money Congress approved expire. GOP Sen. Susan Collins: "a clear violation of the law."

Friends, here is how a dollar Congress approved can disappear without a vote. Late Friday the White House said it will cancel spending through a "pocket rescission," CBS News reports: $567 million for HHS services to refugees, asylees and other migrants, $50 million for other immigrant-aid programs, $70 million in what it called "Woke International Education" grants, and $56 million in HUD programs. Under the Impoundment Control Act, Congress gets 45 legislative days to approve a rescission request. Send it late enough and the money simply expires when the fiscal year ends, which is Wednesday. The White House says it is cutting "wasteful and harmful government spending." Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican who chairs Senate Appropriations, said lawmakers learned of $810 million in pocket rescissions "without warning or consultation" and called it "a clear violation of the law." The GAO has called pocket rescissions illegal. You may cheer some of these cuts. But Scripture says let your yes be yes. When Congress says yes and the president signs it, running out the clock is no substitute for a vote. Make the case for the cuts, and make it in daylight.