Senate Republicans talk tweaks to Trump's funding cut package
Broad pushback inside the Senate GOP conference against cutting public media and global health funds, as described by several attendees, is the latest sign Republicans will have to make changes to the administration's rescissions package if they hope to pass it.
'Just by listening to the conversations — one, members still need to understand it better,' Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said in a brief interview after the closed-door Republican lunch. He added, 'I think we will get it passed, but in all likelihood it will be modified.'
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said, 'I just heard a lot of concerns raised in this meeting just now. People have a lot of stuff they want changed.'
Areas of concern and possible changes raised during the lunch touched on multiple parts of the package. Some Republican senators want to protect their public media outlets back home from the aggressive funding cuts being sought by the White House, while others have concerns about slashing global AIDS funding and other international health funds. Republicans also sought clarity in the meeting about proposed reductions to food aid to other countries.
Senate GOP leaders can lose three Republicans on the rescissions package and still let Vice President JD Vance break a tie. So far, they are being careful not to overpromise that they currently have the votes to get the bill across the finish line. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters, 'we're going to continue working through the process and you'll see the voting next week.'
They don't have much time to negotiate: Congress has until the end of the day on July 18 to get the legislation to President Donald Trump's desk, or the rescissions request expires, forcing the administration to spend the money as Congress originally intended. And assuming the Senate does make changes, it would bounce the legislation back to the House for a final vote. Senate leaders are gambling that their counterparts across the Capitol will just swallow those revisions.
The lengthy discussion at the Senate lunch Wednesday was the first conference-wide discussion Republicans have had about the White House's rescissions request since they returned to Washington from a brief July Fourth recess.
As part of the meeting, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) and Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) both delivered presentations on the package. Schmitt, according to Hoeven, is sponsoring the rescissions bill in the Senate, while Collins is one of the chief skeptics who has openly pledged to push for major changes.
Other Republicans agitating for amendments include Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, along with Sens. Mike Rounds of South Dakota and Jerry Moran of Kansas.
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) said in a brief interview that lawmakers inside the room still had some questions about the proposed funding cuts, and that Schmitt promised he would seek answers from White House budget director Russ Vought.
'Eric did a great job. Susan did a great job,' said Britt. 'I think they really laid it out there and showed a commitment to continuing to work together to get the answers that people needed and ensure that we had those moving forward.'
Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
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