What’s in the Republican bill cutting $9 billion from public broadcasting and foreign aid

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., leaves the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 17, 2025. Photo by J. Scott Applewhite /AP

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led Congress is testing the popularity of Department of Government Efficiency spending cuts this week by aiming to pass President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion in public broadcasting and foreign aid spending.

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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 are trying to kill the measure but need some Republicans uncomfortable with the president’s effort to join them.

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The Senate approved the vast majority of Trump’s request in the early morning hours Thursday, 51-48. Another House vote is needed because senators changed the legislation. The House passed an earlier version of the bill on a mostly party line vote.

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Here’s a closer look at what’s in the bill:

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Public media on the chopping block

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Trump has 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.

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The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense.

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The corporation distributes more than 70% of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming.

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The potential fallout from the cuts for local pubic media stations has generated concerns on both sides of the political aisle.

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Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he secured a deal from the White House that some funding administered by the Interior Department would be repurposed to subsidize Native American public radio stations in about a dozen states.

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But many lawmakers say that won’t help a large number of local broadcasting stations. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., unsuccessfully sought to take out the public broadcasting cuts.

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“If we don’t adopt this amendment, local television and radio stations will shut down and it will be rural stations that will be the first to close,” Baldwin said.

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To justify the spending cuts, the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have cited certain activities they disagree with to portray a wide range of a program’s funding as wasteful.

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In recent testimony, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought criticized programming aimed at fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. He said NPR aired a 2022 program entitled “What ‘Queer Ducks’ can teach teenagers about sexuality in the animal kingdom.” He also cited a special town hall that CNN held in 2020 with “Sesame Street” about combatting racism.

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Targeting humanitarian aid

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As part of the package, Trump asked lawmakers to rescind about $8.3 billion in foreign aid programs that aim to fight famine and disease and promote global stability.