Senate Approves $9 Billion Rescissions Package, House Faces Deadline
Early Thursday, the Senate narrowly passed a $9 billion foreign aid and public media rescissions package by a 51-48 vote, sending the President Donald Trump-sought spending cuts to the House of Representatives. The House must clear the measure by Friday’s midnight deadline.
The Senate’s 13-hour “vote-a-rama” concluded after adopting a Republican substitute that removed a $400 million cut to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and protected funding for agriculture, nutrition, and specific country grants like those to Jordan and Egypt. Senator Rand Paul (Kentucky) was the sole Republican to oppose the substitute.
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Attention now shifts to the House, where an earlier intra-Republican dispute had temporarily stalled the vote. Failure to meet the Friday deadline would mean the $7.9 billion in foreign aid cuts and $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be unfrozen and spent as originally directed.
Democrats, including Senate Appropriations ranking member Patty Murray (Washington), have warned that these partisan rescissions could damage the Senate’s traditional bipartisan appropriations process, which typically requires 60 votes.
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Senator Thom Tillis (North Carolina) acknowledged this concern, questioning future bipartisan cooperation on spending bills if prior agreements are disregarded. Democrats have also threatened more “vote-a-ramas” if additional rescissions packages are sent by the White House.
The passage marks a win for the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce federal spending. However, the move has created tension, with some Republicans, like Senator Mike Rounds (South Dakota), agreeing with Democrats that it could negatively impact future spending negotiations.
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