Some Republicans Join Democrats in Unease Over White House Budget Cuts
A handful of Senate Republicans joined Democrats on Wednesday in sharp questioning of President Trump's proposed budget cuts, exposing the depth of congressional unease with the White House's new plan to pare back billions of dollars for foreign aid and public broadcasting.
The rare display of bipartisan discord left the fate of that package uncertain at a moment when the Trump administration has signaled that it is willing to circumvent Congress to slash federal spending, potentially touching off a constitutional battle over the power of the purse.
The dynamic played out over a tense, roughly three-hour grilling of Russell T. Vought, the White House budget director, who asked lawmakers to approve Mr. Trump's request to rescind more than $9 billion in enacted funds. The administration has framed the package, unveiled this month, as the first of possibly many that could implement changes identified by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
But Democrats and some Republicans on Wednesday questioned the president's proposed clawbacks, which passed the House earlier in June. Some lawmakers said the cuts would undermine longtime bipartisan priorities, including a shared desire to preserve local television and radio stations and combat the global AIDS crisis.
Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine and the chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said she worried about the implications for global health, particularly because some of the funding that the president targeted has 'saved more than 26 million lives.'
Lawmakers from both parties later echoed some of those criticisms, prompting Ms. Collins to conclude the hearing by saying that it showed the 'depth of concerns about this rescission from members on both sides of the aisle' with the White House's plans. A spokesperson for the senator later confirmed that she was drafting an amendment to change the package when it reached the Senate floor.
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