WASHINGTON () For the first time in decades, Congress has approved a presidential request to rescind previously authorized funding in a win for President Donald Trump.
In a late-night vote Thursday, House Republicans passed a $9 billion rescission bill targeting foreign aid programs and public broadcasting, long-standing GOP priorities for spending cuts.
Trump is expected to sign the bill Friday, ahead of a deadline to either enact the cuts or release the funds.
Celebrating the victory on social media, Trump wrote: “House approves nine billion dollar cuts package, including atrocious NPR and public broadcasting, where billions of dollars a year were wasted. Republicans have tried doing this for 40 years, and failed … but no more. This is big!”
What is a rescissions bill?
The legislation, made possible under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, allows a president to request that Congress cancel funds that have already been approved. Lawmakers then have 45 days to act; otherwise, the money must be spent.
The last such legislation to be enacted was in 1999, under President Bill Clinton.
What’s included in rescissions package?
The legislation which claws back already-approved federal funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting cleared the chamber in a mostly party-line 216-213 vote less than a day after the Senate passed the measure.
The package targets the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS two outlets that Republicans have labeled as biased as well as the U.S. Agency for International Development, which DOGE targeted early in the Trump administration.
Republicans view the bill as a critical “test run” for the party, as Trump administration officials have already indicated that they aim to send multiple special requests to Congress to claw back more funding if the first package passes.
The request initially sent by the White House, known as a rescissions package, called for $9.4 billion in cuts to federal funding previously approved by Congress, including $8.3 billion for USAID and foreign aid, as well as more than $1 billion in public broadcasting funds.
However, the White House ultimately agreed to exempt the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which was established under former President George W. Bush in 2003 and totaled about $400 million, after those cuts became a critical point of contention for moderate GOP lawmakers.
Republicans said they also reached a deal with the administration seeking to shield tribal stations from cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
What happens next for rescissions bill?
The legislation will return to the House for a final vote.
partner The Hill contributed to this report.
