Senate backs Trump’s ‘DOGE cuts’ as conservatives target foreign aid, woke grants

By David Sivak | Washington Examiner

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.

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