How the Senate saved PEPFAR — but still greenlit billions in aid cuts
After an all-night marathon of amendments, the U.S. Senate voted to advance U.S. President Donald Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package on Wednesday. The package will claw back nearly $8 billion in previously approved funding for foreign aid.
The vote came after more than 12 hours of near-continuous roll-call votes, a process known in Capitol Hill as a vote-a-rama. Triggered by the bill’s use of budget reconciliation, the process allowed any senator to offer amendments — producing a legislative showdown that stretched past midnight.
Just after 2 a.m., the senators came to a 51-48 vote, pushing ahead a final bill that’s slated to strip billions of dollars in development, humanitarian, and economic assistance. It will also slice away more than $1 billion in previously approved funds from the United Nations, its agencies and its peacekeeping operations, and rescind funding for public broadcasting in the United States.
About the author
Elissa Miolene
Elissa Miolene covers U.S. foreign assistance from Washington, D.C. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for The Wall Street Journal, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other news outlets across the world. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for aid agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.
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