Trump claims $9.4 billion in DOGE-inspired spending cuts
The Republican got his way despite three rebel Republicans - Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, Susan Collins (pictured), Maine, and Mitch McConnell, Kentucky - voting against it. It is the first of what GOP leaders expect to be many so-called 'rescission' packages where the White House asks lawmakers to rethink their approval of certain programs. The bill specifically contains 21 budget rescissions, many first identified by DOGE.
The $9.4 billion in funds being clawed back includes about $1.1 billion in financing for public broadcasters, like PBS and NPR. It also contains roughly $8.3 billion in USAID funding for social foreign aid programs abroad, like operas for transgender people and pro-LGBT groups throughout the world, is on the chopping block. The bill was widely supported by conservative members of Congress, though some more moderate GOP lawmakers had concerns about the legislation's deep cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and impacts on public broadcasters.
It caused a mini civil war among Republicans who weren't totally onboard with the package at first. Vice President JD Vance had to be called into the Senate for a late-night tie-breaking vote to advance the measure on Tuesday. Trump had warned possible defectors that he would not support their re-election if they didn't vote for the bill clawing back the unspent funds.
'It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, defund the corporation for public broadcasting (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together,' Trump posted on Truth Social last week. 'Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or endorsement.' Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, meanwhile, was not concerned with securing Trump's stamp of approval.
During a Senate hearing with the architect of the White House's rescissions bill, Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought (pictured), Collins told the official she cannot support his sweeping budget reforms. 'I cannot support the cuts that are so deep and so damaging in global health programs,' Collins told Vought at the end of June. PEPFAR, which was started under former President George W. Bush, has been credited with saving millions of lives. Collins has said she is looking to amend the WH package to exclude cuts to the AIDS prevention program. I can't imagine why we would want to terminate that program,' she has said.
Trump's White House eventually agreed to exempt PEPFAR from the slashes to get wayward Republicans on board. Collins has also questioned the cuts to public broadcasters, which she has noted are important to Maine residents - particularly in emergency situations. The moderate has admitted that NPR has a 'partisan bent' and has called actions from the outlet's president Katherine Maher, including her calling Trump a 'liar' and wearing a Joe Biden hat are 'very troubling.'
South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds took issue with the public broadcasting cuts. 'I can't support this [package] ... until we get the issue resolved with regard to these rural radio stations,' he told CNN. Alaska's two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, had also signaled that they would oppose the rescissions package over public broadcasting cuts.
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