7.17.25 - The latest on rescissions, plus what’s next

This morning, at President Trump’s behest, the Senate clawed back federal funding Congress had previously approved on a bipartisan basis. This package of “rescissions” cuts $9 billion for foreign assistance, contributions to United Nations bodies like UNICEF, and funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR. Every Senate Democrat opposed the cuts, while every Republican voted for them, with two exceptions: Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). 

For more details on the White House-requested cuts, check out our July 11 update. Below, I’ll get into what’s changed since then, where things stand now, and what’s next. 

How did the Senate change the rescissions package? 

The Senate changed the rescissions package that the White House asked for and that the House approved on June 12. Those changes include: 

• Preserving $400 million for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and specifying that cuts to global health programs must not take funding from HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis, maternal and child health, or nutrition programs. However, the Senate retained cuts to family planning and reproductive health care. Those programs have been essential to preventing HIV transmission and infant and maternal deaths—including an estimated 34,000 maternal deaths averted last year alone.

• Retaining funding for specified food aid programs. This change came at the same time as reports that the Trump administration plans to burn 500 tons of food that was meant to feed children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, despite promises from Secretary of State Marco Rubio that food assistance would get to people in need and not be allowed to expire. 

• Omitting cuts to aid for Jordan and Egypt, as well as the Countering People’s Republic of China Influence Fund. 

What about concerns for public broadcasting and emergency alerts?

I noted last week that clawing back funding for public broadcasting could shut down public radio and TV stations, threatening life-saving emergency broadcasts that rural communities in particular depend on during disasters, such as the recent flash floods in Texas. Public broadcasting alerts have been critical when cell and Internet service has gone down, such as during Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. Tribal broadcasters also appealed to senators to oppose the cuts.  

Despite some Republicans’ reported concerns that these cuts could endanger their constituents during emergencies, GOP senators voted down an amendment to block the cut to public broadcasting if it threatened emergency services. 

Now what happens in the House? 

Because the Senate changed the package the House approved last month, the House has to vote on it again. Reminder: Congress has to approve a rescissions package no more than 45 days after the White House requests it in order to move it through the Senate with just a simple majority vote. 

That clock runs out tomorrow, July 18—so, the House wants to get this done today if possible. “Getting this done” means a Rules Committee meeting to set parameters for debate, House debate and a vote on that rule, then House debate and a vote on the final package before it can go to the President to become law. It’s doable, but a tall order. 

There is some debate as to whether the administration must release these funds if that clock runs out while Congress is actively considering the package. I’m not an expert on the Impoundment Control Act or an attorney, so I won’t speculate there… 

…that said, the administration is currently holding back an estimated $425 billion+ from the American people, including funding for teacher training, libraries, electric vehicle charger installations, and much more. I am skeptical that the same administration will hustle to get resources out the door if Congress narrowly misses this deadline, even though the law is clear—but, like much of the aforementioned funding, it could become another question for the courts. 

And if this does become law? 

If these cuts do become law in the coming days, the next big question will be how all of this impacts efforts to fund the government before it shuts down at the end of the fiscal year (September 30). 

Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said, “we have never, never before seen bipartisan investments slashed through a partisan rescissions package.” This begs the question, how do Democrats agree to a government funding deal in the next couple months, knowing Republicans could vote to walk that deal back shortly thereafter? We’ll keep you posted. 

If you’d like a live update for your group or coalition, reach out to catherine@progressivecaucuscenter.org. Thanks!