The US Senate has narrowly approved President Donald Trump’s controversial proposal to cut $9 billion in federal spending, targeting foreign aid programs and eliminating funding for public broadcasting.
In a 51–48 vote on Tuesday, the Senate passed the rescissions package, which had already cleared the House of Representatives last month by a slim 214–212 margin. The measure marks a rare use of presidential authority to cancel funds previously approved by Congress, with the bulk of the cuts affecting overseas assistance programs and global health efforts.
A key element of the package is the complete elimination of the $1.1 billion allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the next two years. President Trump and several Republican lawmakers have long criticized public media, accusing it of political bias and labelling its funding as unnecessary government spending.
“This is a small but important step toward fiscal sanity,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), backing the administration’s effort to reduce what he described as bloated federal expenditures.
The cuts are part of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to shrink government spending. According to Democrats, over $425 billion in already-approved funding has been frozen under the president’s directive, with more “rescission” requests expected.
However, the decision has drawn criticism from both Democrats and moderate Republicans. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) broke ranks with their party to vote against the bill. Murkowski voiced concern over the abrupt defunding of public broadcasting and potential risks to global health initiatives.
“You don’t need to gut the entire Corporation for Public Broadcasting,” Murkowski said during a Senate address, warning of the broader implications of bypassing Congress on spending decisions.
Initially, the package included $9.4 billion in cuts, but following Republican pushback over reductions to PEPFAR, the US government’s flagship HIV/AIDS relief program, the administration exempted the initiative, lowering the total to $9 billion. The revision requires a final House vote before it can be signed into law.
Democrats condemned the move as an attack on congressional authority and bipartisan spending agreements.
“Today, Senate Republicans turn this chamber into a subservient rubber stamp for the executive, at the behest of Donald Trump,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). He accused the GOP of hypocrisy, pointing out that Republicans had recently supported a large tax and spending package projected to add over $3 trillion to the national debt.
With a September 30 deadline looming to pass new appropriations bills and avoid a government shutdown, Democrats warned that such unilateral cuts could damage trust and derail future budget negotiations.
