The Senate early Thursday narrowly passed, 51-48, a $9 billion foreign aid and public media rescissions package, sending the spending cancellations sought by President Donald Trump back to the House where the clock is ticking to get it cleared by Friday.
GOP moderates Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska broke ranks to back the final measure. The House is expected to take up the amended legislation later on Thursday.
Senators ended a 13-hour vote-a-rama after adopting, 52-47, a Republican substitute that stripped out a $400 million rescission to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a popular anti-HIV program, and barred any remaining rescissions from taking away funding for agriculture and nutrition assistance and some country-specific grants, including to Jordan and Egypt.
