POWER STRUGGLE

Republican Rebels Fail to Stop Trump Tearing Up Foreign Aid and Public Broadcasting

The Senate gave the president the go-ahead to the bill clawing back $9 billion in federal funding.

The Senate passed President Donald Trump’s request to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and public media funding in the early hours of Thursday morning, with all but two Republicans voting against it. The upper chamber eventually cleared the package in a 51-48 vote, with GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining all Democrats in voting against the measure. Democratic Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota missed the vote after being hospitalized and kept in overnight “out of an abundance of caution,” reported Politico. The two Republican senators also backed numerous Democratic amendments to remove some cuts to areas such as global health funds and the international disaster assistance account, which were ultimately voted down. Collins and Murkowski are longtime critics of Trump, having voted to impeach the president for his actions around the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol in 2021. Murkowski was previously criticized for flipping and voting for Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” spending bill, thus helping it pass, after previously voicing concerns about it. The rescissions package with the Senate’s changes will now be sent back to the House for approval, with a vote expected on Thursday.