The Republican-led Congress had passed President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion in public broadcasting and foreign aid spending.
The Republican-led Congress has passed President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion in public broadcasting and foreign aid spending.
Trump’s Republican administration is employing a rarely used tool that allows the president to transmit a request to cancel previously approved funding authority. Democrats tried to kill the measure but needed more Republicans uncomfortable with the president’s effort to join them.
The Senate approved the vast majority of Trump’s request in the early morning hours Thursday, 51-48. The House followed suit early Friday, 216-213. The measure now goes to the president to be signed into law.
Here’s a closer look at what’s in the bill:Public media on the chopping block
Trump asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it’s due to receive during the next two budget years.
The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense.
