The US Senate has agreed to cancel $9.4 billion in federal spending after a request from President Donald Trump. The money being cut includes funds for foreign aid and support for media outlets like NPR and PBS.
The Senate voted on Wednesday, July 16. The vote was very close, with 51 senators in support and 48 against. The bill will now move to the House of Representatives, where it’s expected to be approved by July 18.
Once the House agrees, the bill will be sent to President Trump to sign into law.
Earlier in June, House Speaker Mike Johnson said the administration had asked Congress to cancel the funds, calling them wasteful. The Department of Government Efficiency agreed with this view.
Before this, in May, Trump signed an executive order to stop government funding for NPR and PBS. He said they were reporting in a biased way.
After the order was signed, NPR and several radio stations in Colorado filed a lawsuit on May 27. They argued that cutting their funding was a way to silence the press.
