The House has approved a measure that targets $9 billion in cuts, which includes reductions to public broadcasters, shortly after midnight on Friday.
The vote saw just two House Republicans—Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania and Mike Turner from Ohio—opposing it, resulting in a narrow margin of 216 to 213 in favor. This legislation marks a significant win for Trump, making him the first president in over 25 years to secure such a clawback proposal through Congress. It’s not just another bill—it’s huge. Trump, reflecting on the vote, emphasized how Republicans have tried to achieve this for decades without success.
Interestingly, both Fitzpatrick and Turner had previously voted against this resignation bill back in June when it was first under consideration. Meanwhile, other GOP members like Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Mark Amodei from Nevada switched their votes to support an amended version that included funding for Global AIDS relief and other health initiatives.
As the deadline loomed on Friday, Congressional GOP leaders managed to push through the spending cuts, successfully getting the president’s approval with about 24 hours to spare. Had they failed, Trump would have had to implement the $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting—yikes!
This bill fulfills Trump’s goal of shutting down the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and cutting funding for entities like NPR and PBS, which critics often argue lean toward a liberal bias. The legislation aims to decrease funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) by $1.1 billion over two years. It’s worth noting that CPB is a nonprofit that helps to fund NPR and PBS.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed claims from public broadcasting organizations about the potential for cuts affecting emergency warnings during disasters. She questioned NPR’s role in public safety, arguing instead that it often serves as a platform for left-leaning propaganda.
This package represents the first formal legislation to cement the budget cuts outlined by Trump’s Government Efficiency initiative. However, there is still an identified waste of around $164 billion in federal spending that hasn’t been addressed yet.
Speaker Mike Johnson stated after the vote that Americans shouldn’t have to fund politically biased media or wasteful overseas expenditures. He also hopes to push through additional retirement bills before the midterms.
Fitzpatrick, who comes from a mixed political background in Pennsylvania, had also opposed Trump’s broader policy proposals before. Following the vote, Trump expressed disappointment regarding Fitzpatrick, noting that the opposition didn’t directly defend his major vision.
House Democrats stood firm against the rescue bill, arguing that the clawback request violated Congressional authority concerning financial budgeting. This retirement package specifically bypassed them since it required only a simple majority to pass.
Democratic Rep. Rosa Delauro criticized the move as an attack on Congressional financial authority. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), on the other hand, criticized the Democrats’ stance, arguing that the cuts represented a mere 0.1% of the federal budget, which totals around $7 trillion.
In a somewhat contrasting statement, NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella remarked that the vote highlighted a clear distinction between House Republicans, who aim to eliminate waste, and Democrats, who he felt endorse excess.
