Budget director of the White House Russ Vought speaks on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, with reporters in the US capitol building (photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom)
Washington -The US Senate took a step closer to 9 billion US dollars on previously approved funds for several foreign aid programs and public broadcasting attacks after the GOP leaders had addressed some objections.
Almost all Republicans of the Chamber voted for the debate about the law, although Main’s Susan Collins, Kentuckys Mitch McConnell and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska were against the procedural step together with every democrat.
The 51-50 votes marked a significant moment for President Donald Trump’s torch request, who was more headwind in the Senate than in the house. Vice President JD Vance released the binding vote.
Trump proposed to eliminate 1.1 billion US dollars for the public broadcasting company that the legislator had approved for the next two financial years and 8.3 billion US dollars of several foreign aid accounts.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting offers financial resources for the national public radio, the public broadcasting service and the local media stations across the country.
The majority leader of the Senate, John Thune, Rs.d., said before the vote that some of the progress from the elimination of expenditure on the emergency plan of the President of AIDS relief or Pepper, a global health program for combating HIV/AIDS, which was created by the former President George W. Bush.
“There was great interest among our members to do something on the Pepper question, and this is reflected in replacement,” said Thun. “And we hope that the house would accept this one small change if we can do this in the Senate via the finish line.”
The Republican Senator of South Dakota, Mike Rounds, who had Considered concerns A few hours before the vote, he announced that he had made an agreement with the White House about the reduction of financing for rural public broadcasting stations that were led by tribal communities.
“We wanted to make sure that tribal industries in South Dakota continue to operate the potentially life -saving emergency warnings,” wrote round in a social media post. “We worked with the Trump administration to find Green New Deal Money, which could be assigned to re -assign the tribal radio station without interruption.”
In a compact interview that 9.4 million US dollars are transferred directly to 28 American radio stations in nine states from one account within the interior department.
“I have been concerned about the effects on the effects on these radio stations, which are located in rural areas with people who basically have very few other resources, and for me they were caught at public broadcasting in the crossfire,” said Rounds. “And so I just wanted to have it repaired and it was successful to repair it.”
The budget director of the White House, Russ Vought Viagt against reporters After lunch with the Republican senators with closed doors, that he did not want to be too far ahead, but that his office worked with GOP senators to ensure that certain local shipment stations “have the opportunity to continue to carry out their early warning system and local reporting”.
Main’s Collins wants more details
Chair of Senate Needs, Collins, expressed reservations about some of the reservations During a hearing in Junesaid that the full financing for Pepper was “progress”.
But Collins said a few hours before the vote that she would like even more details from the White House household office about the exact source of the other 9 -billion dollars for cuts for previously approved expenses.
“One of the problems I raised at lunch is the total number of the total of 9 billion US dollars and it is unclear how they receive 9 billion US dollars because he has listed a number of programs that he wants to quote,” said Collins and referred to the interest. “So we still have the problem of having no detailed account information from omb.”
Collins, R-Main, then stopped a printed version of the 1992 recreation request that President George HW Bush sent the congress, who said that she was “extremely detailed” and listed every account.
“I would compare this to the message that we received for this return and that only has a paragraph and do not tell them how they broke up in every program,” said Collins, adding that they are still “the options”.
The Senate’s procedural vote began a maximum of 10 hours of debate, to which a marathon amendment meeting is followed, which could revise the bill. As soon as a final passage votion takes place on Wednesday.
Trump expected more inquiries to be sent
The house approved the legislation In June, but the measure must return for a final vote on the Capitol, as it is expected that the Senate will make changes.
The efforts to terminate the financing that the Congress had previously approved in the government’s non -partisan financing laws began in the past month when the Trump administration sent the congress This request for withdrawal.
The initiative, led by the Budget Director of the White House, is part of the ongoing efforts of the Republicans to reduce federal expenditure that charges 6.8 trillion dollars in the last full financial year.
VOUGHT expects the legislator to send additional recovery proposals in the coming months, even though he did not say publicly when or which financing he requested the congress.
As soon as the White House submits a request for withdrawal, it can freeze financing on these accounts for 45 days, while the congress is to approve, change or ignore the proposal.
Johnson makes funding for public media
The spokesman for the House of Representatives Mike Johnson, R-La, said during a press conference before the removal of Pepfar announced that he hoped that the Senate had not changed the draft law at all.
“As always, I asked you not to keep the product because we have a close lead and have to survive,” said Johnson. “But we will process whatever you send us whenever you send us and I hope it will be soon.”
Johnson said that the cancellation of the previously approved financing for some foreign aid programs and the corporation for public broadcasting were “low -hanging fruits”.
The federal financing for public media, said Johnson, embodied a “abuse of taxpayers dollars” against organizations that create “biased reporting”.
“During its creation, NPR and PBS may have made sense, and maybe it will do it now,” said Johnson. “But it shouldn’t be subsidized by taxpayers.”
Trump has also tried to encourage the Republican senators to adopt the bill without making significant changes.
“It is very important that all Republicans develop my Recissions calculation and in particular the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC,” Trump wrote on social media last week. “Every Republican who is right to transfer this monstrosity will not have my support or confirmation. Thank you for your attention for this matter!”
