“SURRENDERING POWERS”
Around a dozen Republicans had voiced concerns about allowing the White House to dictate spending cuts, placing them in the crosshairs of Trump, who last week threatened to withhold his endorsements from any rebels.
The vote was the first in what Republicans have touted as a potential series of packages codifying the spending cuts made by DOGE.
Musk was tapped by Trump to lead the task force after the tech billionaire spent US$290 million helping him get elected.
The SpaceX and Tesla boss boasted that he would be able to save US$2 trillion in federal spending – but left the White House under a cloud in late May as he feuded with Trump over deficits and spending.
DOGE acknowledges that it has saved taxpayers just US$190 billion – and fact checkers even see that claim as dubious, given previous inaccuracies in its accounting.
The rescissions package slashes around US$8 billion in foreign aid, with much of that approved for humanitarian organisation USAID, one of DOGE’s first targets.
Around US$1 billion is to be taken back from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), as well as more than 1,500 local radio and television stations.
Conservatives often accuse PBS and NPR of bias, and Trump signed an executive order in May to cease federal funding for both networks.
Democrats say cutting the funding will not meaningfully reduce the deficit, but instead dismantle a trusted source of information for millions of Americans.
“It is yet another example of the spirit and ideals of our Constitution being undermined in a terrible way. We are a nation that believes that (Congress) has a real role,” New Jersey Senator Cory Booker told AFP.
“And this is a bunch of my colleagues in thrall of the president, surrendering the powers of us, and the urgency for us to work together and do it in a bipartisan way to improve budgets.”
