Senate passes Trump’s bill to cut broadcasting, foreign aid funding

Senators in the early hours of Thursday narrowly passed a bill to enact President Donald Trump’s proposed cuts to public broadcasting and various aid outlets. Only Republicans voted for the Rescissions Act of 2025, passing it by a vote of  51-48 around 2 a.m.

The measure cuts $9.4 billion in funding provided by the State Department or president to the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, along with other related agencies. The bill’s funding cuts include USAID operating expenses, the U.S. Institute for Peace, and various programs for disaster relief and foreign support, according to the congressional summary.

The measure is now headed back to the House of Representatives, which voted 214-212 last month to advance it. The lower chamber will consider the Senate version of the bill, which removed some sections including cuts to PEPFAR, a global health program combating HIV and AIDS.

Did any Republican senators vote against the bill? Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine joined Democrats in voting against it on Thursday. Murkowski previously cited her long-time support of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for voting against the bill, and suggested defunding specific projects with the CPB rather than gutting the entire thing. Collins said senators weren’t given sufficient time or details to know the scope of the bill’s proposed cuts, according to the WABI news outlet. 

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s previous report for more about the White House’s request for lawmakers to codify DOGE funding changes.