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Senate Questions Trump’s $9.4 Billion Rescission Package

Lawmakers pressed OMB Director Russell Vought on whether the cuts could undermine PEPFAR funding, raising concerns about the future of rural public media stations.

U.S. Capitol Police remove protesters after they began shouting in a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing as Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought began to testify on the rescissions package, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, June 25, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Susan Collins gavels in the Senate Appropriations Committee hearing in on Wednesday.
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the proposed rescission package to cut funding for international aid and public media, at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 25, 2025.
Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought testifies during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on the rescissions package on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)

Overview

  • Russell Vought testified June 25 before the Senate Appropriations Committee defending rescissions that would reclaim $8.3 billion in foreign aid and $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
  • Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins and other Republicans warned the cuts could hinder PEPFAR’s HIV/AIDS relief and disrupt multi-year global health and nutrition programs.
  • Senators including Lisa Murkowski and Mike Rounds cautioned that eliminating CPB funding could leave rural and Native American stations without essential emergency communication services.
  • Senator Mitch McConnell described the rescissions process as “unnecessarily chaotic” and warned it might create vacuums for adversaries such as China to expand influence.
  • With a July 18 deadline looming, the rescission package’s fate remains uncertain as bipartisan resistance grows despite its House approval on June 12.