The Senate voted to approve a rescission package that claws back funds allocated for public media and foreign aid. And, President Trump floats the idea of firing the Federal Reserve chair.
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The Senate approved legislation early this morning to rescind $9 billion in federal funding for NPR, PBS, their member stations and foreign aid programs. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that it has been over 30 years since a rescission package was passed. The House is expected to vote on the rescission package later today. If it passes, it will be a win for President Trump and DOGE’s effort to slash overall government spending.
???? Democrats have called it a dark day, stating that the bill will harm Americans who rely on public broadcasting and damage the U.S.’s reputation as a global leader, NPR’s Deirdre Walsh tells Up First. The overall package was slimmed down from $9.4 billion by removing a proposed $400 million cut to PEPFAR, a global public health program created to combat HIV and AIDS that both Republicans and Democrats argue has been successful. Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, one of two Republican senators who voted against the rescission, cited an emergency alert from an Alaska public radio station Wednesday afternoon as an example of what is at stake if stations lose federal money.
Note: Under NPR’s protocol for reporting on itself, no corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.
Trump says he hasn’t ruled out firing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, ahead of the end of his term in May. The president has become increasingly frustrated with Powell for months for not lowering interest rates. The Fed has been cautious about interest rates because it is evaluating the impact of the president’s tariffs on inflation.
