Senate Advances NPR, PBS and Foreign Aid Cuts

The Senate passed a package cutting funding from public broadcasting and foreign aid by a 51-48 vote early Thursday morning, a step forward in Republicans’ work to codify President Donald Trump’s restructuring of the federal government.

Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republican defectors, and Democrat Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota did not vote since she was hospitalized Wednesday due to an unknown health issue.

The rescissions package, which targets $9 billion in funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development as well as for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, was passed on a vote of 214-212 in the House in June.

“It is gut-check time,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. ahead of the vote.

“You either believe in reducing spending or you don’t. And if you talk the game and say, ‘let’s reduce spending,’ and you vote against this bill, in my opinion you ought to hide your head in a bag.”

Under law, the president can withhold funding for 45 days, at the end of which Congress must cut the funding or it will have to be spent. That gives Congress a July 18 deadline to get a rescissions bill to the president’s desk.

Trump signaled early on that the bill was a top priority, writing on Truth Social, “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.” 

He added, “Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement.”

The bill was amended in the Senate to exclude cuts to the AIDS prevention program PEPFAR, bringing total savings down from $9.4 billion to $9 billion. The amended bill will now go back to the House of Representatives, where leadership will have a quick turnaround to pass it.

The recissions package travelled a rocky road towards passage, as Vice President JD Vance had to break a tie in order to discharge it from the appropriations committee when Sens. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, as well as Collins and Murkowski, voted against advancing it.

Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska (left) and Susan Collins of Maine. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

McConnell, who ultimately voted for the bill, has criticized cuts to foreign aid funding, which he considers “incredible instruments of soft power.”

Murkowski expressed concerns over public broadcasting cuts throughout the process, saying it is a “lifeline” for rural Alaskans seeking information on weather events.

Collins similarly opposed cuts to public broadcasting, saying “they maintain the emergency alert systems.”

Republicans were ultimately able to squeak out another hard-fought legislative victory after hours of debate and amendments on the Senate floor, in what is called a “vote-a-rama.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., guided his party in opposition against the bill.

“Sometimes, all too often, public broadcasting is the only way for people to hear what’s going on. It’s a matter of life and death,” he said on the Senate floor Wednesday.

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., was one of the fiercest advocates of the rescissions package, arguing that talk of cuts to emergency alerts was “not only fearmongering, but not true” since FEMA—which is left untouched by the bill—handles emergency alert systems.

Now, Republicans in the House have a short runway to pass the bill before Friday’s deadline, which would be the first major codification of the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts to the federal government.

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