Senate Approves Trump's Bid to Cancel Foreign Aid and Public Broadcast Funds

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: New York Times

July 17, 2025, 2:37 a.m. ET


The Senate early on Thursday morning approved a White House request to claw back $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting, as Republicans bowed to President Trump in an unusual surrender of congressional spending power.

The 51-to-48 vote came over the objections of two Republicans, who argued that their party was ceding Congress’s constitutional control over federal funding. The Republicans who opposed the measure were Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.

The bulk of the funds targeted — about $8 billion — was for foreign assistance programs. The remaining $1.1 billion was for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. The House is expected to give final approval to the package later this week, sending it to Mr. Trump for his signature.

The debate on the measure laid bare a simmering fight over Congress’s power of the purse. Since Mr. Trump began his second term, the White House has moved aggressively and at times unilaterally, primarily through the Department of Government Efficiency, to expand the executive branch’s control over federal spending, a power the Constitution gives to the legislative branch.

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/us/politics/senate-vote-trump-bill-pbs-npr-foreign-aid.html

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No paywall (gift)

[chowder66]

1. Petty twats.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. What are the chances of Public Broadcasting raising $1.1 billion a year

from listeners and viewers? At least until the 2026 midterms?

[BumRushDaShow]

3. They do get quite a bit of funding from various foundations

so hopefully some of those will step up to make up for the loss.

[tishaLA]

6. On Deadline White House, they mentioned

That perhaps someone like Melinda Gates or Bezos's ex-wife (sorry but I forget her name( could help fill the void.

PBS and NPR already have advertising, although it's usually "presented with the help of ...." things and they could advertise more conspicuously, which would suck but add to the coffers nonetheless -- and both PBS and NPR have audiences that would be very attractive to advertisers.

[Scrivener7]

9. Increasing advertising is how TLC went from being the network that gave us Walter Cronkite's amazing Great Books series

to being the network that gave us the Duggars.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

13. TLC and the History Channel...

...are always the examples I think of when pondering how wonderful channels went completely to to hell.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

12. It's over two years

Over $550,000,000/year.

Still a lot of money to raise, but I have no doubt they'll be able to do it.

[SouthBayDem]

17. Too many of us expect reporting to be given for free,

judging by how many complaints online there are any paywalls.

[Botany]

4. Burning America to the ground and then killing poor people a round the world by stopping their aid

Trump is the face of evil.

[Jit423]

5. Dems should add to their new messaging

"The GOP doesn't want you to know the FACTS. That is why they just approved cutting funds for Public Broadcasting."

There should be some new Town Halls being set up all across the nation.

Epstein drama
Public Broadcasting cuts
Delayed enforcement of cuts to SS, Medicaid, Obamacare until after the election so the voters won't vote the our of office. They want to claim that the media and the Dems are lying and that no cuts have taken place

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Most members of Congress already host Town Halls

That is what the "District Work Period" time (when they are not in session) is set aside for.

ALL of these subjects have been discussed at these Town Halls (whether "in person" or "virtual" or "phone" ), and I expect the Epstein thing has probably come up from some constituent questions.... But little of this makes any "national media" because we are talking 500+ members of Congress and the "national media" can in no way cover all that (only the ones where near fights break out).

These events do often get highlighted in "local" media.

[progree]

8. At least PEPFAR (anti-retroviral meds for AIDS) got left out of the Senate recissions, but I still don't know

how much is reaching the people in need who are/were funded by PEPFAR, mostly in Africa.

To win the votes of Republican senators who initially objected, G.O.P. leaders agreed to strip out a $400 million cut that Mr. Trump requested to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. The White House signaled it would not contest the change.

They also shielded some funding for some specific programs, including aid to Jordan and Egypt; Food for Peace, a program that provides food assistance to other countries; and some global health programs.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

14. I was especially happy...

...to hear that PEPFAR funding survived.

[orangecrush]

10. Heard it discussed on NPR this morning

They are stealing everything from us.

[bronxiteforever]

11. Lead by Thune the Toady. Weak and dumb.n/t

[Historic NY]

15. Well that sucks

Well that sucks public broadcasting, you know educational broadcasting and old time 50s 60s 70s music, Downton Abby, Ken Burns, Sesame St . Bluey, Masterpiece. CSPAN.

[ancianita]

16. Two Republican senators voted NO. Collins and Murkowski

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/07/17/us/senate-rescissions-vote.html