Dem
47
GOP
53
Congressional Republicans may be getting ready to defy Donald Trump on Jeffrey Epstein (see above), but they otherwise continue to roll over for the president like well-trained dogs. We certainly hope the GOP members are housebroken (and Housebroken), but with a few of them (ahem, Derrick Van Orden, R-WI), we definitely aren't sure.
First up is the rescissions. Late Wednesday, as expected, the Senate voted to cancel $9 billion for foreign aid and for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), thus giving sanction to a portion of the work done by Elon Musk and DOGE. The vote was 51-48, with Sen. Tina Smith (DFL-MN) absent from the proceedings, and Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME) joining the Democrats in voting against the cuts. Somehow, some way, Collins once again managed to break ranks with her party without it actually mattering. Funny how that works.
The House took up the measure yesterday morning, and also voted in favor. In the lower chamber, the final vote was 216-213, with Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Mike Turner (R-OH) crossing the aisle to vote with the Democrats. The legislation now heads to the White House for Donald Trump's signature; he has to take care of business by midnight Friday, and presumably will do so unless someone has hidden all his Sharpies.
Once Trump has signed, the federal outlay for the CPB, which funds both PBS and NPR, will be reduced to $0. Republicans are making no bones about the reason for the cuts; they believe that those outlets have a left-wing bias, and that hurts their fee-fees. For example, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said: "We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime." Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) added that public broadcasting "has long been overtaken by partisan activists. Plain and simple." It's true; everyone knows that Daniel Tiger of Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood is a commie. You think it's just a coincidence that he wears a RED hoodie? Please, comrade...
We have already written this, but it bears repeating. Largely speaking, NPR and PBS outlets in big cities (i.e., blue areas) will be fine, as they have many funding sources, including foundations, donations from patrons, etc. It's the rural NPR and PBS outlets, the ones that serve MAGA voters, that are likely to close up shop. For some reason, those viewers and listeners did not find the programming to be unacceptably woke, left-wing, etc. The CPB, incidentally, gets about one penny out of every $100 the federal government spends, so cutting that funding in the name of economy is clearly justified.
As to the foreign aid, about $400 million in PEPFAR (fighting AIDS) funding was supposed to be cut, but the senators said "no," and put that money back. Most of the cuts, about $8 billion in total, will be to aid for certain Middle Eastern nations (Egypt and Jordan, primarily); several non-PEPFAR global health programs, and Food for Peace, which combats hunger in poor countries. It is very hard to understand why these folks, nearly all of them self-proclaimed Christians, would want to stop helping needy people when the amount involved is basically a rounding error on the overall federal budget. By the way, there are 500 tons of USAID food, with a value of about $800,000, that was supposed to go to hungry children around the world, but that is sitting in a warehouse because DOGE killed USAID. That food has reached its expiration date, and so it will have to be destroyed, at an additional cost of about $150,000. Efficiency!
In addition to approving the rescissions, the Senate—specifically, the Senate Judiciary Committee—also voted to advance the nominations of Emil Bove for a judgeship on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and Jeanine Pirro for U.S. Attorney for Washington, DC, despite the fact that they are both woefully unqualified, and they were both chosen entirely on the basis that they will tote Donald Trump's water. The Democrats on the Committee tried to shame their colleagues into voting "no," and when that failed, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) led them in walking out of the hearing room, in protest. Something of an empty gesture, but it's the only thing they could do, besides doing nothing. Such is life in the minority. (Z)