The move to have a final vote on a Republican effort to codify $9.4 billion in Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts to government spending crept forward on Wednesday after Vice President JD Vance cast yet another tie-breaking vote in the Senate to advance the measure.
The Senate barely passed a procedural vote 51-50 late Tuesday night after three Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski (AK), Susan Collins (ME) and Mitch McConnell (KY) voted with Democrats to block the cuts, requiring Vance to show up and cast his vote to break the tie.
The Blaze reported:
The rescissions package makes $1.1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, including PBS and NPR, which have functionally worked as left-wing organizations subsidized by American taxpayers. The package also cuts $8.3 billion to various leftist projects disguised as foreign aid programs such as the U.S. Agency for International Development.
But Senator Murkowski, who often breaks with Republican ranks on issues, argued DOGE was undermining congressional authority.
“We’re lawmakers. We should be legislating. What we’re getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, ‘This is the priority. We want you to execute on it. We’ll be back with you with another round,’” CNN reported her saying. “I don’t accept that. I’m going to be voting no.”
But other senators were satisfied with the bill once particular needs in their state were met. Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD), for example, announced on X he would back the measure after working out an agreement to preserve funds for rural radio stations in his state of South Dakota.
Debate on the bill was expected to continue Wednesday with a marathon voting session to follow on amendments. A Friday deadline has been set for a final floor vote. Political observers say codifying the cuts would be a win for the Trump administration, as a future president couldn’t cancel the cuts with an executive order.
The bill will then have to be returned to the House for final passage before being sent to President Trump’s desk. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday urged the Senate to send it back “as is” because of the narrow Republican majority there.
Contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the best-selling author of Below the Line and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
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