Washington: In a significant win for former President Donald Trump and his fiscal conservative agenda, the U.S. Senate narrowly passed a sweeping $9 billion rescission bill on Thursday that will strip funding from public broadcasting and foreign aid programs. Passed by a 51–48 vote, the bill marks a rare and aggressive use of the rescission process a mechanism that allows the executive branch to formally cancel funds already approved by Congress.
The bill specifically targets nearly $8 billion earmarked for international aid initiatives, including global health programs, USAID activities, and foreign disaster response. Additionally, it eliminates $1.1 billion in funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which supports American public media networks such as NPR and PBS longtime targets of right-wing criticism.
While the bill secured Republican backing, it revealed cracks within the party. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) broke ranks and voted against the measure, citing concerns that defunding the CPB could impair emergency alert systems, especially in rural and remote areas where public media serves as a vital information lifeline.
To win over hesitant senators, negotiators made a last-minute revision to the bill by carving out $400 million to preserve the PEPFAR program, a U.S.-funded global initiative to fight HIV/AIDS. This reduced the total rescinded amount from $9.4 billion to $9 billion.
Despite the amendment, Senate Democrats fiercely opposed the legislation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned the bill sets a dangerous precedent of eroding congressional authority over the federal budget. “This isn’t just about dollars and cents it’s about control,” Schumer said. “What we’re seeing is an attempt to weaponize the budget process to silence independent media and weaken America’s humanitarian commitments.”
One of the most controversial elements of the bill is the defunding of public broadcasting. Republican lawmakers argued that taxpayer money should not support media organizations they consider biased or unnecessary in the era of digital media. Trump himself has frequently derided NPR and PBS as "elitist mouthpieces," and his supporters have long championed their defunding as a culture war issue.
However, public media defenders argue that these networks provide crucial services particularly in rural, low-income, and indigenous communities. Local NPR affiliates often deliver weather alerts, educational programming, and emergency broadcasts in areas where commercial media has little or no presence.
Media advocacy groups warn the cuts could lead to a wave of station closures and job losses, as many local affiliates rely on CPB grants for basic operations. The National Federation of Community Broadcasters called the move “devastating” and predicted a significant reduction in local news, cultural programming, and public accountability.
The decision to slash international aid has also drawn condemnation from humanitarian organizations and U.S. allies. The rescinded funds would have supported vaccination campaigns, emergency food distribution, refugee assistance, and global disaster recovery operations. With wars, pandemics, and climate emergencies creating compounding humanitarian needs, critics say the cuts risk diminishing American leadership and influence abroad.
Analysts also warned that abandoning foreign assistance may create power vacuums that adversaries like China and Russia could exploit. “Every dollar cut from global aid is a dollar Beijing or Moscow is happy to replace,” one international policy expert noted.
The bill’s passage is both symbolic and strategic for Donald Trump as he eyes a return to the White House in 2028. His MAGA-aligned allies in Congress have pushed to reshape the federal budget in favor of domestic security and industrial policies, while shrinking spending on diplomacy, media, and foreign engagement.
While rescission bills are extremely rare this being one of the few passed in modern U.S. history Trump's maneuver demonstrates his continued sway over Republican legislative priorities.
The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to fast-track it for a vote. If passed by Friday, the rescinded funds will be permanently canceled before they can be released by federal agencies.
Meanwhile, the broader political battle over the federal budget continues to heat up, with a September deadline approaching for Congress to agree on next year’s spending. Lawmakers on both sides now face a larger debate: Should budgeting reflect ideological priorities or uphold traditional bipartisan allocations?
As the dust settles from this unprecedented budget rollback, one thing is clear the 2025 rescission vote may set the tone for a new era of partisan budgeting, where spending is no longer just about numbers, but about national identity, political power, and competing visions of America’s role at home and abroad.