The Senate passed a White House-endorsed plan to cancel $9 billion in federal funding for foreign-aid programs and public media after the Republican-led chamber blocked attempts to slim down the package in a marathon overnight voting session.
The measure was approved 51-48 at 2:30 a.m. on Thursday, largely along party lines, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining Democrats in opposition.
The package now returns to the House for final approval, where it must pass by a Friday deadline mandated under the budget rules Republicans are using to move the package without Democratic votes. If successful, it will then head to Trump’s desk, where he’s expected to sign the partisan push to claw back federal dollars that Congress had already sent out the door.
Senate Republicans secured a key concession, restoring $400 million to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has saved an estimated 26 million lives since its inception under President George W. Bush in 2003.
Democrats warned that these cuts would cripple local stations, particularly in rural areas heavily reliant on federal funds. A last-minute amendment by Collins and Murkowski to preserve most of the CPB funding failed.
This rescissions package, the first passed at a president’s request in decades, faced opposition from two Republicans—Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska)—who joined Democrats in voting against it.
Senate Republicans secured a key concession, restoring $400 million to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which has saved an estimated 26 million lives since its inception under President George W. Bush in 2003.
However, The Washington Post reports no relief was granted for public broadcasting. The bill eliminates $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which supports PBS and NPR.
Republicans like Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Missouri), the bill’s lead sponsor, argued that taxpayers shouldn’t subsidize public broadcasting, which benefits from donations, corporate sponsorships, and private grants.
“Many states already invest in public broadcasting,” Schmitt said on the Senate floor. “It’s long overdue for them to take on more responsibility.”
While NPR and PBS, which receive only a small portion of their budgets from federal funds, are likely to weather the cuts, many local stations face severe impacts. Some, heavily dependent on CPB for over 50% of their budgets, could shut down, while others may slash local programming.
Julie Overgaard, executive director of South Dakota Public Broadcasting, noted the lack of flexibility: “I can’t cherry-pick national PBS programs to cut costs, so we’ll have to reduce our locally produced content.” The cuts, set to take effect this fall, could mark the end for some stations that have survived decades of funding threats.