Congress is poised to claw back billions in foreign aid after the Senate narrowly passed $9 billion in DOGE-inspired cuts on Thursday.
In a 51-48 vote, the Senate approved the White House request, known as a rescission bill, all but clearing the way for it to become law. Just two Republicans – Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – joined Democrats in voting “no.”
The request now heads back to the House, which narrowly passed a similar version in June.
Thursday’s vote, which came after a marathon voting session that stretched late into the night, is a major victory for President Donald Trump and a 180–degree turn from an unsuccessful rescission request Trump made in his first term.
Centrist Republicans lodged a series of complaints, including a lack of detail regarding which programs will be cut, but enough accommodations, including a carveout for AIDS prevention money, were made to shore up GOP support.
After more than 12 hours, Republicans successfully fended off Democratic attempts to amend the bill, casting their final vote shortly after 2 a.m.
The House only has until Friday to pass the Senate bill, or the White House will be forced to spend the money under the rules of the Impoundment Control Act. But Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has already begun to clear procedural obstacles for a same-day vote and in June managed to keep nearly all of his conference together.
The rescission, which also targeted $1.1 billion for public broadcasters like NPR and PBS, is just the first of what the White House hopes will be repeated requests to pare back “waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Democrats described the rescission as cuts to life-saving funding that would weaken America’s standing on the world stage, while Republicans said the money, in particular grants on transgender rights, climate, and more, strayed from the purpose of foreign aid.
That funding will again be litigated as the Senate considers its 12 annual appropriations bills. Republicans passed the rescission on a party-line vote that skirted the Senate filibuster, but avoiding a government shutdown in September will require bipartisan cooperation.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) called the vote a “short-circuiting of the appropriations process” on Wednesday and has previously warned Republicans that rescissions would poison negotiations when it comes time to strike a deal.
On the Republican side of the aisle, Collins and other top appropriators have complained about the White House’s tactics on spending.
In particular, Collins has expressed opposition to White House budget chief Russ Vought’s interest in using “pocket rescissions,” which might sidestep a Senate vote altogether by transmitting the request at the end of the fiscal year.
Vought, who worked closely with tech mogul Elon Musk before he stepped away from the Department of Government Efficiency, has called Thursday’s vote a test case for future spending reductions. However, he would not commit to bringing more requests in a hearing before the Appropriations Committee in June.
House fiscal hawks have balked at the Senate for removing $400 million in AIDS prevention funding, bringing the total request down from $9.4 billion. Vought negotiated that concession along with outside commitments on public radio and other funding pools to secure 50 Senate votes.
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The Senate also ignored pleas from Johnson to leave the rescission unamended, meaning the House now has a take-it-or-leave-it decision to make.
Vice President JD Vance, who cast the tie-breaker on two procedural votes this week, was on call for final passage of the rescission, but the unexpected hospitalization of Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) on Wednesday gave Republicans more breathing room to pass it without his help.
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) also voted “yes” after opposing the procedural votes on Tuesday.