GOP infighting over Trump's DOGE cuts to take center stage as deadline looms

CNN

2 days ago

Congressional Republicans are launching into their next big legislative fight — this time over DOGE spending cuts for foreign aid and public broadcasting — that risks the wrath of President Donald Trump if they fail.
With just days to go before a critical deadline, Trump himself is applying pressure to his party, even dangling the threat of withholding his endorsement to those on the fence about supporting what would be another major win for the White House over Democrats in Congress.
Republicans on Capitol Hill are facing intense headwinds, with one of their own chairwomen still working to keep certain programs from the chopping block ahead of a firm July 18 deadline to sign those cuts into law. And that push is being closely watched by the GOP's fiscal hawks, many of whom remain angry at party leaders for forcing them to swallow trillions of dollars in tax cuts earlier this month.
Still, GOP leaders believe they will ultimately deliver on the president's demands to claw back $9.4 billion in funds Congress already approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting programs — with Trump in particular leaning heavily on members.
Trump's package, which is part of his cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency operation, will need to pass the Senate and the House by Friday, under an obscure presidential budget law used to circumvent the Senate filibuster. The GOP-led Senate is poised to make some changes that could be a tough sell in the House, marking the second time this month they'll be jamming the House on a Trump priority.
Trump has made clear he will not tolerate Republican defections on the vote.
'Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement,' the president wrote on Truth Social.
Top Republicans, including Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, have been working behind the scenes to adjust the White House's package of cuts, which would claw back $1.1 billion that Congress already approved to local broadcasting stations, including NPR and PBS, as well as global health programs like President George W. Bush's landmark PEPFAR program to fight AIDS.
Collins, the powerful Senate spending leader, has strongly opposed the White House's push to rescind $400 million for PEPFAR — a move she said would be 'extraordinarily ill-advised and shortsighted' — as well as funding for maternal and child health programs. The Maine senator, who proved her willingness to buck Trump this month by voting against his sweeping policy agenda, is also up for reelection next November.
'There are some cuts that I can support, but I'm not going to vote to cut global health programs,' Collins told reporters last week. She said she supports much of the funds devoted for public broadcasting, including emergency alert systems and local programming — but made clear she does not support money for all public media, specifically NPR.
'The problem is NPR, which has a decidedly partisan bent,' Collins said.
But Collins isn't the only one wanting changes. Senators from rural states, like Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, told CNN he opposes the current package because of its effects on local radio stations.
'I can't support this. I want to get to 'yes,' but I won't be there until we get the issue resolved with regard to these rural radio stations that take about 90% of their funding through this process,' Rounds told CNN. The South Dakota Republican added that some of his constituents, mainly residents on Native American reservations in his state, will struggle to get access to information with these cuts to rural radio stations.
GOP hardliners, however, don't want to see changes to the White House's package, which they already believe is not enough in cuts.
Asked about the consequences if his colleagues make changes to the White House's cuts, Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said: 'I'm not going to like it.'
House GOP leaders know there are plenty of their hardliner members who would, too, have a problem if Collins and others water down the cuts in the bill. But they believe they will still pass it by Friday — especially if Trump leans in.
If it works, Congress will likely see more of these types of moves from the White House. Trump's team, led by budget chief Russ Vought, is attempting to make these cuts through a little-used mechanism that allows the Senate to avoid a filibuster.
Trump tried the same tactic — known as a 'rescission' — in his first term, but the Senate ultimately voted the effort down in an embarrassing flop for the president. (Collins voted against that package, which included $15 billion in wide-ranging programs including children's health insurance and housing programs.)
Vought and other fiscal hardliners have signaled they hope to deploy rescissions repeatedly in his second term to rein in Congress' spending without Democratic approval.
Democrats, for their part, have railed against the move, which they argue zaps any chance of bipartisan dealmaking ahead of the next funding deadline in September. Trump will need more than half a dozen Democrats to vote for any bill to keep the government open.
Schumer signaled in a floor speech that Trump's attempt to claw back money that both parties in Congress already agreed to spend could trigger a breakdown in talks — leading to a shutdown.
'It is absurd to expect Democrats to play along with funding the government if Republicans are just going to renege on a bipartisan agreement,' Schumer said on the floor last week.
Even some Republicans, though, aren't sure Trump's package can pass a narrowly divided Congress.
'Will it pass? I don't know. I really don't know,' GOP Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said of the funding cuts. 'We got a lot of Republicans who talk tough. We'll see if they're tough.'