Dem
47
GOP
53
Donald Trump ordered his lackeys in the Senate to claw back $9 billion in unspent funding for foreign aid and for public media. He has until midnight tomorrow to get it done. Getting it done will also require the House to approve the Senate bill when it is done. Otherwise, Trump will be required to spend the money and will be sued if he doesn't.
Some Republican senators are skeptical. They want to know exactly what they are voting on and the administration has been fairly vague on that. On a procedural vote to bring the bill to the floor, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted "no," forcing President of the Senate J.D. Vance to cast the tie-breaking vote. But even senators who voted "yes" on the procedural vote have doubts. Among them is Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC). When asked if the votes were there, he said: "I don't know. I think that there are members that are trying to get assurances on specific programs."
Tillis could be a real problem going forward. Since he is retiring after this session of Congress, he can vote what he thinks his state wants and not pay much attention to what Donald Trump wants because Trump can't threaten him with a primary challenge. Tillis also said that Trump has given him and other senators verbal assurances on issues they care about, but if Trump double-crosses them, this will be the only rescissions package he gets through the Senate.
Among other issues that some Republicans care about are foreign aid programs for maternal health, malaria, tuberculosis and nutrition. In particular, Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) doesn't want food aid to be clawed back. Another issue is funding for public radio in rural areas, some of which have a dearth of stations. Some Republicans know that cutting their constituents off from the outside world may not be popular with them.
After all the Sturm und Drang, in the wee hours of this morning, the bill passed. The vote was 51-48, with Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting against it. Collins' "concern" simply has to do with her election next year. She has no principles. Murkowski is actually a decent human being and probably wishes she could become an independent and caucus with the Democrats, like Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Angus King (I-ME). But she can't because her state's only real industry is oil extraction and this forces her to oppose the Green New Deal and support the oil industry. She's stuck, but does her best.
Over at the House, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) doesn't like what the Senate is doing to the bill. He said: "If they're watering down too much, I'm not sure it moves." He's not fooling anyone. After he bashed the BBB endlessly and then voted for it, everyone knows RACO. (V)