US Senate Approves $9 Billion in Cuts to Foreign Aid, Public Broadcasting

By Staff, Agencies

The Senate has approved President Donald Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package targeting foreign aid and public broadcasting funding, concluding an hours-long "vote-a-rama" early Thursday morning and sending the measure back to the House ahead of a Friday deadline.

The bill passed narrowly in a 51–48 vote, with Republican Senators Susan Collins [Maine] and Lisa Murkowski [Alaska] joining Democrats in opposition. Vice President JD Vance, who had previously cast tie-breaking votes during procedural stages, was not required for the final tally, as Democratic Senator Tina Smith [Minnesota] was absent due to hospitalization.

If both chambers do not finalize the measure by week’s end, the funds in question must be spent as originally allocated by Congress.

The House initially passed the $9.4 billion rescissions request last month, but it faced resistance in the Senate, where lawmakers objected to cuts to global health programs and local broadcasting services. The final Senate version reduces approximately $8 billion from foreign assistance programs—most notably USAID—and trims $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS affiliates.

In response to Senate concerns, White House budget director Russell Vought met with GOP lawmakers on Tuesday and introduced a revision to restore $400 million to an AIDS prevention initiative, which had been a key concern for Senator Collins. However, that adjustment failed to win her or Murkowski’s support.

“The administration has not provided sufficient clarity on how these cuts will be executed,” Collins stated. “To carry out our constitutional responsibility, we should know exactly what programs are affected and the consequences.”

Murkowski echoed that sentiment in a floor speech, warning against Congress ceding too much budgetary control to the executive branch. “We’re lawmakers. We should be legislating. What we’re getting now is direction from the White House,” she said.

Additional concern centered on proposed cuts to public radio and television stations, particularly in rural and tribal areas. Senator Mike Rounds [R–SD] noted that reallocated climate funds would help preserve emergency broadcasting capabilities for Native communities.

Despite voting for the bill, Senator Thom Tillis [R–NC] warned that Congress may need to revisit the issue. “I suspect we’re going to find out there are some things that we’re going to regret,” he said. “And when we do, we’ll have to come back and fix it.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson [R–LA], who pushed for the bill to remain unchanged, downplayed the Senate’s revision. “We need to claw back funding,” he said. “And we’ll do as much as we’re able.”