WASHINGTON — The White House sent congressional leaders a request Tuesday to claw back $9.4 billion in approved spending, most of it for foreign aid.
The so-called rescissions package would slash funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development, NPR and PBS, and it would aim to codify cuts proposed by Department of Government Efficiency, the advisory entity that was helmed by President Donald Trump’s billionaire ally Elon Musk until he left his post last week.
The package would require simple majority support in the House and the Senate, meaning Republicans could bypass Democrats to pass it.
The package includes $8.3 billion in cuts to foreign aid, including a number of programs designed to support LGBTQ communities. There are also cuts to education and transportation programs, reproductive health and funding for the World Health Organization, as well as about $142 million in cuts for UNICEF and nearly $9 million in cuts to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. And the package includes $1.1 billion in cuts to funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
The $9.4 billion represents a drop in the bucket when set against the $6.8 trillion that the U.S. government spends annually. And congressional Republicans are seeking to pass a sprawling domestic policy bill, which would add more than $2 trillion to the debt. Still, spending hawks see it as an important step toward undoing authorized spending, which is rare.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., have both said they would quickly take up the request. Congress has 45 days to pass the package once it is submitted.
“This rescissions package reflects many of DOGE’s findings and is one of the many legislative tools Republicans are using to restore fiscal sanity,” Johnson said in a statement. “Congress will continue working closely with the White House to codify these recommendations, and the House will bring the package to the floor as quickly as possible.”
Rescission packages usually fail because Congress, which controls the power of the purse, typically rejects attempts by a president to decline to allocate certain spending it has directed.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said there are still some questions about the process, telling reporters Monday, “We’re still talking with the parliamentarian about what can and can’t be done,” referring to the in-house referee for Senate rules.
“It’s extremely complex and the rules, because there hasn’t been a successful rescission package in many, many years,” she said.
The House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative hard-liners, is pushing for a speedy vote on the package.
“The House Freedom Caucus strongly supports these critical rescissions, and we will support as many more rescissions packages the White House can send us in the coming weeks and months,” the group, led by Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., said in a statement. “While the Swamp will inevitably attempt to slow and kill these cuts, there is no excuse for a Republican House not to advance the first DOGE rescissions package the same week it is presented to Congress then quickly send it for passage in the Republican Senate so President Trump can sign it into law.”
