When push came to shove, a strong push from Republicans overcame entrenched Democratic opposition and four Republican defections to shove a proposed package of federal spending cuts to the Senate.
The proposal to claw back spending authority for $9.4 billion worth of items targeted by the Department of Governmental Efficiency passed the House 214-212, according to The Washington Post.
Four Republicans voted against the bill — Reps. Michael Turner of Ohio, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, and Mark Amodei of Nevada, according to the House clerk’s office.
Initially, the bill’s chances for passage seemed slim, but Republican Reps. Nick LaLota of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska changed their initial votes against the package of cuts to support the bill, according to Roll Call.
✅ The passage of the first rescissions package is a big win for American taxpayers.
But make no mistake: this is just the start. Now it goes to the Senate — they need to move swiftly.
We need to codify DOGE cuts into law and undo decades of Washington’s wasteful spending.…
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) June 12, 2025
LaLota wanted iron-clad assurances that the $40,000 cap on state and local tax deductions included in the House bill would not be reduced in the Senate.
Bacon has said he did not like cuts to public broadcasting and the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, which is designed to limit the spread of HIV in Africa.
Should the Trump administration continue working to cut federal spending?
Amodei said cuts to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System would hurt his constituents.
“I’m sure we will be voting on this again before the cake is fully baked,” said Amodei, co-chair of the Public Broadcasting Caucus. “I look forward to working with my colleagues to improve and protect this infrastructure our rural communities rely on.”
As noted by The Hill, public broadcasting cuts had been one bone of contention leading up to the vote, making the outcome uncertain in advance.
“I think there’s two major concerns: One is that this is top lines and not specifics, so it is undermining Congress’s authority, and two, there’s concerns about some the potential cuts that people have, and that’s what we’re working through,” a House Republican The Hill did not identify said.
The package of cuts now goes to the Senate. The rescissions process allows passage by a simple majority, meaning that if all Senate Republicans support the package, no Democratic votes would be needed for passage.
In a Thursday message on Truth Social, President Donald Trump referred to the bill as his “first Rescissions Bill.”
“It will OFFICALLY ‘claw back’ $9.4 BILLION DOLLARS in funding for wasteful Foreign Aid, used for Radical ‘DEI’ and the Green New SCAM, and the ‘Corporation for Public Broadcasting,’ which funds the highly biased NPR and PBS. For decades, Republicans have promised to cut NPR, but have never done it, until now. NPR and PBS are a Radical Left Disaster, and 1000% against the Republican Party!” Trump wrote.
Donald J. Trump Truth Social 06.12.25 03:13 PM EST pic.twitter.com/vGnRubTr1p
— Commentary Donald J. Trump Posts From Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) June 12, 2025
“These Rescissions, along with ‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ our highly successful Tariffs, Mass Deportations of Illegal Aliens, and our Strong Economy, will finally CUT the Deficit, and help balance our Budget. The Rescissions Bill is a NO BRAINER, and every single Republican in Congress should vote, ‘YES.’ MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.
White House budget director Russell Vought has said more rescissions packages could be coming, which is just fine with Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, according to The Washington Post.
“I hope they send us more. I’d like to rescind all the DOGE findings,” Johnson said. “I wish we’d been doing these at least once a month, if not once a week.”
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