US lawmakers on Thursday approved a White House request to reclaim $9.4 billion from funds previously authorised by Congress, marking a win for President Donald Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s spending-cut agenda.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the rescissions package by a narrow 214-212 vote, reflecting the controversial nature of the cuts, which target areas including public broadcasting and foreign aid. The legislation represents an unusual move, as reclaiming already approved funding is extremely rare and had not been enacted for decades.
House Speaker Mike Johnson praised the vote, stating, “Under President Trump’s leadership, your taxpayer dollars are no longer being wasted. Instead, they are being directed towards priorities that truly benefit the American people.”
This vote is the first in what Johnson has described as a series of packages intended to formalise the savings sought by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), established during Trump’s administration.
Musk was tasked by Trump to lead the task force after contributing $290 million to the former president’s election campaign. The SpaceX founder claimed he could save $2 trillion in federal spending but left the White House earlier this month following disagreements over deficits and fiscal policies. DOGE acknowledges it has saved roughly $180 billion, although fact checkers question the accuracy of its claims.
The approved rescissions package cuts $8.3 billion from foreign aid, primarily affecting the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a major target of DOGE’s efforts. It also withdraws $400 million from health programmes including the PEPFAR global AIDS initiative, created under President George W. Bush.
Additionally, the package rescinds $1.1 billion in funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports National Public Radio (NPR), the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and over 1,500 local radio and TV stations. Conservatives have long criticised NPR and PBS for alleged bias, with Trump signing an executive order earlier this year to halt federal funding for both.
“For decades, Republicans have promised to cut NPR, but have never done it—until now,” Trump wrote on Truth Social as the vote was underway. “NPR and PBS are a Radical Left Disaster, and 1000% against the Republican Party!”
Democratic Congressman Dan Goldman and Republican Mark Amodei, co-chairs of the congressional public broadcasting caucus, argued the cuts would not significantly reduce the deficit but would dismantle “a trusted source of information for millions of Americans.”
The rescissions package now moves to the Senate, also under Republican control, where it requires a simple majority of 51 votes to pass, rather than the usual 60.