GOP airs concerns about Trump’s use of rare tool to cut funds despite backing bill

Congressional Republicans are on the verge of approving roughly $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting funds sought by the White House, but some are airing concerns over the Trump administration’s use of a rare process to lock in the cuts. 

This week could mark the first time in decades that Congress has approved such a request from a president for funding cuts by way of the special rescissions process. The package of cuts, which passed the Senate on Thursday, now heads to the House for consideration — where GOP leaders are hopeful of swift passage by a looming Friday deadline. 

But even as Republicans are defending the president’s use of the tool as the party looks to lock in cuts pursued by Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), there has been notable pushback in the conference over what some perceive as a lack of information in the administration’s request.

“Conservatives, particularly, I find it remarkable just how open we are to not demanding the details before we vote,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who voted to advance the package, told reporters Wednesday. 

“But I’m not going to hold it up because of the relatively small size of it, but I think going forward, it would be virtually impossible to get another rescission package done at any scale if they don't do their homework.”

As the Senate began consideration of the package this week, prominent members of the Republican conference voted against beginning debate as some pressed for further information about the administration's plans for reductions.  

“The rescissions package has a big problem – nobody really knows what program reductions are in it,” Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said in a statement late Tuesday after voting against advancing the plan. “That isn’t because we haven’t had time to review the bill. Instead, the problem is that [the Office of Management and Budget] has never provided the details that would normally be part of this process.”

“For example, there are $2.5 billion in cuts to the Development Assistance account, which covers everything from basic education, to water and sanitation, to food security – but we don’t know how those programs will be affected,” she said.

Collins and other Republicans pointed to previous rescissions packages approved by Congress during the George H.W. Bush administration for comparison as they pressed for more details.

“Congress approves rescissions regularly. When we do it as part of the annual appropriations process, we do so with an understanding of what we are cutting.  This was also the case in 1992, the last time Congress approved rescissions under the Impoundment Control Act.  That just isn’t the case here,” Collins said. “The sparse text that was sent to Congress included very little detail and does not give an accounting of the specific program cuts that would total $9.4 billion.”

In contrast to some requests sent under Bush, the Trump administration request used more politically charged language to make the case for cuts to “wasteful” spending seen as “antithetical to American interests.” Republicans also noted the previous requests contained more details about the types of accounts and funds targeted for reductions.

Under the rescissions process initiated by the Trump administration last month, Congress has until July 18 to approve the roughly $8 billion in cuts for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and foreign aid, and more than $1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which provides some funding to NPR and PBS.

Many in the party have long scrutinized the scope of funding for foreign aid and accused public radio and television of political bias. But there are Republicans in both chambers who have been uneasy with the size of cuts for global health funding or about the prospect of slashing funding for the CPB, which some argue would have a disproportionate impact on local and rural stations. 

Senators worked with the administration to secure an agreement aimed at shielding tribal stations from the public broadcasting cuts ahead of the vote. The White House also agreed to exempt the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), which was founded under the George W. Bush administration, from proposed cuts. 

The package has been getting a boost from the party’s right flank as hard-line conservatives have stepped up calls for the administration to send multiple rescissions requests in the months ahead to codify DOGE cuts, particularly as the administration has faced multiple legal challenges in recent months over its efforts to freeze congressionally approved funding. 

On its website, DOGE estimated as of Wednesday that it had racked up $190 billion in savings through a combination of actions, including workforce reductions, asset sales, canceling and renegotiating contracts and leases, as well as grant cancellations. 

However, the webpage has also come under scrutiny in recent months, as multiple reports have found its “wall of receipts” contained inaccurate information and inflated some savings at times. 

Trump officials have indicated more rescissions requests could be on the way if the GOP-led Congress is able to push through this initial rescissions package — setting up a key test for the party this week.

But some Republicans are also cautioning the administration about resorting to such tools in excess. 

While House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said Wednesday that he doesn’t have “any problem” voting for the plan, he said he noted such tools could “destroy a certain amount of goodwill that I think cost you down the road if you do it too much.”

“I understand the concern amongst appropriators on both sides of the aisle about it, but I just try to evaluate the packages as they come up. I mean, these are legitimate tools. The executive branch is free to use them,” he said. 

“If you're trying to move toward balance, you're going to end up having to cut some things you don’t want to cut,” he said. “Just the nature of it, every decision can’t be one that makes you happy.”

However, Cole also noted that the current package being considered in Congress was seen as potentially the easiest of the rescissions packages that Republicans could have to consider from the White House.

“I thought this one was probably more achievable than most, so the fact that we're struggling with this gives me pause. I would be very careful about using these again, without doing the prep work and without providing all the information.”