Latest news with #rescissions
CBS News
4 days ago
- Business
- CBS News
Vought won't rule out more rescissions funding cuts before September
Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought said his office is considering more options to claw back funding approved by Congress and isn't ruling out sending more bills to lawmakers with further cuts before September. Vought confirmed on CBS News' "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" Sunday that "we are looking to do [a] rescissions package" to take back some funding from the Education Department. A rescissions bill is the president's request to rescind funding already appropriated by Congress. Last week, President Trump signed a bill clawing back foreign aid, NPR and PBS funding, becoming the first president in decades to receive approval for such a measure. "We're thrilled that we had the first rescissions package in decades, and we've got the process moving again," Vought said of the $10 billion clawback. Asked to confirm there'd be no rescissions package before September, as Congress attempts to fund the government and head off a shutdown, Vought responded, "Not here to say that. We're looking at all of our options, we will look at it and assess where the Hill is, what are the particular funding opportunities that we have?" Asked about National Institutes of Health funding for research into heart disease and cancer that has yet to be released, Vought replied, "We're going through the same process with the NIH that we did with the education." He alleged NIH had wasted funds, claiming "$2 million for injecting dogs with cocaine that the NIH spent money on, $75,000 for Harvard to study blowing lizards off of trees with leaf blowers." He vowed to go "line by line to make sure the NIH is funded properly" and said funding would be released "when we are done with that review." Vought's use of rescissions measures to amend government spending is seen by Democrats and some Republicans as a backdoor method of infringing on Congress' constitutional power of the purse. "Rescissions is just a Washington name for double cross," Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, also on "Face the Nation," said after Vought's interview on the program. "They support one thing one day — the president even signs off — and then they come back and say they change their mind." But the OMB director argued, "We have the ability and the executive tools to fund less than what Congress appropriated" under the Impoundment Control Act, which enables the president to delay spending funds appropriated by Congress, and he didn't rule out a legal battle over the executive branch's authority to revise lawmakers' spending downward, if it "could find waste" by an agency. Vought has also caused GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune some headaches with a comment he made Thursday suggesting the appropriations process must be "less bipartisan." But this put Thune in a bind as he oversees negotiations to avoid a government shutdown in October, since Republicans hold a slim majority of 53 - 47 in the Senate, and most legislation must reach a 60-vote threshold. "It's going to take 60 to fund the government," Thune said in response to Vought's remark, and he added, "we plan to move [appropriations] bills that will have cooperation from the Democrats." Van Hollen said it was ironic that Vought is "calling for these deep cuts to education, NIH, when he has asked for an increase for his OMB budget." And referring to reduction-in-force — or RIF — staff cuts the administration wants across the government, Van Hollen added, "He asked for a 13% increase for his OMB budget. He's asked for more people to join the OMB staff while he's talking about RIF-ing people at other departments." The Maryland senator said that Democratic senators, as they negotiate funding government operations, are "asking for four Republican senators just to publicly declare that when they say they're gonna fund the Veterans Affairs Department, that they actually mean it."
Wall Street Journal
6 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
Righting Our Fiscal Ship Is a Necessary National Voyage
Your editorial 'Rescission Time for the GOP Senate' (July 16) is correct: $9 billion in clawbacks is a small, but significant step toward restoring fiscal sanity in Washington. Passing the rescissions package is necessary to rein in some wasteful spending, but these savings alone won't right the fiscal ship. The national debt has grown by $384 billion since the House passed the rescissions bill on June 10—that averages out to $11 billion per day in new debt.
Fox News
20-07-2025
- Business
- Fox News
From Washington: Congress Claws Back Billions. A Sign of More Cuts to Come?
This week, Congress passed President Trump's $9 billion rescissions package, codifying cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting. Now, Republicans are eyeing even more cuts to avoid a government shutdown in September. FOX News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram explains the process of passing the rescissions package and what it could indicate for future spending cuts. Later, Charles Payne, host of 'Making Money' on FOX Business, discusses the state of the housing market and how the Federal Reserve's decisions are impacting Americans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Washington Post
18-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
How Trump's Epstein woes nearly derailed his spending cuts
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to reporters at the Capitol on Thursday as the House prepared to vote on the rescissions bill. (Will Oliver/EPA/Shutterstock) Congress passed a rescissions package early Friday. The package formally withdraws funding for foreign aid, as well as for public television and radio stations. But debate stretched into the night on Thursday, as unrest over the Trump administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case continued to roil the GOP. While the bill passed along largely partisan lines, the saga illustrates the heat some Republicans are facing after the recent Justice Department decision to withhold the 'Epstein files' from the public. Host Colby Itkowitz speaks with Post congressional reporters Liz Goodwin and Marianna Sotomayor about the controversy over the rescissions package and why the Epstein scandal remains a sticking point for lawmakers. Today's show was produced by Arjun Singh. It was edited by Laura Benshoff and mixed by Sean Carter. Subscribe to The Washington Post here.
Associated Press
18-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Live updates: House approves Trump's $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid
The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump's request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their efforts to target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda. The vote marked the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and the White House suggested it won't be the last. Some Republicans were uncomfortable with the cuts, yet supported them anyway, wary of crossing Trump or upsetting his agenda. The House passed the bill by a vote of 216-213. It now goes to Trump for his signature. Update: Date: 2025-07-18 12:06:01 Title: Recission cuts represent a heavy blow to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Content: The cancellation of $1.1 billion for the CPB represents the full amount it is due to receive during the next two budget years. The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced particular concern about what the cuts to public broadcasting could mean for some local public stations in their state. ▶ Read more about the House vote on the recissions Update: Date: 2025-07-18 11:58:20 Title: Ask AP reporters a question Content: Update: Date: 2025-07-18 11:56:08 Title: House gives final approval to Trump's $9 billion cut to public broadcasting and foreign aid Content: The package cancels about $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and nearly $8 billion for a variety of foreign aid programs, many designed to help countries where drought, disease and political unrest endure. The vote marked the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and the White House suggested it won't be the last. Some Republicans were uncomfortable with the cuts, yet supported them anyway, wary of crossing Trump or upsetting his agenda. The House passed the bill by a vote of 216-213. It now goes to Trump for his signature. ▶ Read more about the House vote and the recissions request
