In a tight vote early Thursday morning, the Senate
passed
President Donald Trump’s $9 billion spending cut proposal, marking a significant win for the administration in its battle with Congress over federal budget control. The bill now heads to the House, where lawmakers must approve it by Friday for it to take effect.
The final vote was 51-48. Republican Senators Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) joined Democrats in opposition, while Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) was absent due to a medical issue.
The legislation would claw back billions in foreign aid and funding for public broadcasting — including $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS. Democrats argue the cuts would devastate local and rural stations reliant on federal dollars. A last-ditch effort by Collins and Murkowski to reverse most of the public broadcasting reductions failed just before the bill passed.
While the bill initially sought to cut $400 million from the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), that funding was restored in a concession to concerned GOP senators. PEPFAR, a widely supported initiative since its launch in 2003 under President George W. Bush, is credited with saving more than 25 million lives.
A Deeper Clash Over Spending
The move signals a deeper ideological divide between the Trump administration and Congress, with the White House pushing to unwind spending priorities previously approved by bipartisan majorities.
“This is a modest but meaningful first step toward restoring fiscal sanity,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who led the bill’s passage. “It represents just a fraction of federal spending, but it sends a strong message.”
The legislation includes billions in
rescissions
targeting foreign aid — such as funds for refugee support, democracy programs, and United Nations contributions. White House budget director Russell Vought defended the cuts, citing examples like electric bus projects in Rwanda and wind farms in Ukraine as wasteful.
Mounting Republican Concerns
Despite supporting the bill, several Republicans expressed unease over the administration’s lack of clarity regarding which specific programs will be impacted.
“We’re going to realize later that some of these cuts have
unintended
consequences,” warned Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). “And we’ll need to fix them.”
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who initially opposed bringing the bill to the floor, ultimately voted yes but criticized the administration’s vague approach. “They want a blank check,” he said. “That’s not how this should work.”
Democratic Pushback and Warnings
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, blasted the bill as reckless and shortsighted, accusing Republicans of undermining bipartisan cooperation and setting a dangerous precedent.
“This opens the door for more
sweeping
cuts without full congressional debate,” warned Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee. “Everything will be up for grabs.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called the move “a con job,” saying Republicans could use similar tactics in the future to dismantle bipartisan funding agreements without input from Democrats.
Impact on Aid Agencies and Public Media
The bill also comes after months of internal disputes over the administration’s unilateral moves to slash funding. USAID — which administered many of the targeted foreign aid programs — has already seen mass layoffs and operational shutdowns under Trump’s second term.
To secure key votes, the White House agreed to spare Native American public radio stations by reallocating Interior Department funds — a move that won over Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.).
But the changes weren’t enough for Collins and Murkowski, who criticized the administration’s opaque process and lack of program-specific transparency.
Next Stop: The House
The House is expected to vote Thursday to
approve
the Senate’s changes. The bill previously passed the chamber only because of several Democratic absences. With full attendance likely this time, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) must flip at least one of the four Republicans who voted against it — Reps. Mark Amodei (Nev.), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.), Michael Turner (Ohio), and Nicole Malliotakis (N.Y.) — for the bill to reach President Trump’s desk.
If successful, it will mark Trump’s second major legislative victory in recent weeks, following a law extending his 2017 tax cuts and massively boosting defense and immigration spending.
Though modest in scope — the cuts represent just 0.1% of the federal budget — Republicans are touting the bill as the opening shot in a broader campaign to rein in government spending.
