WASHINGTON — Some key Senate Republicans are expressing serious reservations with a package of spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump as they barrel toward a final vote as soon as Wednesday evening.
But several of those senators say they’ll still vote for the bill, which slashes $9 billion in previously approved funding for foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS.
The Senate began voting on amendments to the rescissions package Wednesday, one day after advancing it in a paper-thin vote of 51-50, with Vice President JD Vance breaking a tie. Three Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins, of Maine; Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska; and Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky — voted with Democrats against the measure.
All three are senior members of the Appropriations Committee and complained, among other things, that the White House has not provided details about how they will implement the cuts.
That means all of the other 50 Republican votes are crucial for final passage. And some of those Republicans are leery about the measure, which is advancing under a rarely used fast-track process in which Congress can cancel spending on a simple-majority vote.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said he’s “prepared to vote for this rescissions package” even as he voiced similar concerns.
“I suspect we’re going to find out there are some things that we’re going to regret,” Tillis said Wednesday on the floor. “Some second and third order effects. And I suspect that when we do, we’ll have to come back and fix it.”
Asked by NBC News if his concerns could lead to him voting against the overall bill, Tillis said, “We’ll see.”
“The problem is I’m trying to have a positive view about how this rescission is going to be implemented. It’s not near as prescriptive as I would like for it to be,” he said. “But if they misstep, it’ll definitely influence my posture for future rescissions.”
Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., the chair of the Armed Services Committee, said he’s backing the measure “with reservation.”
He said it “troubles” him that lawmakers are being so deferential to the executive branch: “It concerns me — as perhaps approaching a disregard for the constitutional responsibilities of the legislative branch under Article I.”
“Congress has the power of the purse. The president has the power to enforce. In this situation, there’s a specific amount stated that will be rescinded,” Wicker said on the Senate floor. “But this Congress will not be allowed to choose those specific cuts. That will be done by somebody in the Office of Management and Budget in the White House. And in this situation it will amount to the House and Senate basically saying: We concede that decision voluntarily to the executive branch.”
“So I have express concern about this,” said Wicker, who added that he intends to vote in favor of advancing the package anyway because of “a larger imperative at this moment” to address a “budget crisis.”
Wicker said Wednesday he stands by his speech, and the decision to support the rescissions measure despite his misgivings.
“I think my remarks speak for themselves,” he told NBC News.
McConnell, who spent a record 18 years as Senate GOP leader before stepping aside in January, told reporters that it’s unacceptable for the White House to leave lawmakers in the dark about the details on how they’ll enact the spending cuts.
“I want to make it clear I don’t have any problem with reducing spending. We’re talking about not knowing,” he said. “They would like a blank check, is what they would like. And I don’t think that’s appropriate. I think they ought to make the case.”
If the Senate passes the measure it will need to go back through the House before Trump can sign it into law. Senators planned to amend the measure, which the House passed 214-212 last month, to remove $400 million in cuts to PEPFAR, the foreign aid program to combat HIV/AIDS.
Lawmakers have 45 days to send a rescissions package after it is submitted to the president’s desk, which is Friday.
