House Republicans approved President Donald Trump’s $9.4 billion spending cuts package Thursday in a 214-212 vote, marking the first major legislative victory for the Department of Government Efficiency.
The so-called rescission package axes approximately $8.3 billion of wasteful spending from the U.S. Agency for International Development and $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
House Speaker Mike Johnson praised the measure as a critical step toward fiscal responsibility.
“I want to thank DOGE for their heroic and patriotic efforts,” he told reporters. “What we’re trying to do is ensure that every dollar spent by the federal government is used efficiently and effectively.”
“Today’s House passage of this initial rescissions package marks a critical step toward a more responsible and transparent government that puts the interests of the American taxpayers first. It is just one of the ways Republicans are codifying DOGE’s findings and putting taxpayer dollars to better use,” Johnson said.
The narrow passage came despite establishment Republican resistance, with four GOP lawmakers joining all 208 Democrats in opposing the bill. Representatives Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, and Mike Turner of Ohio broke ranks to vote against the package.
At least two Republicans initially voted no but flipped their votes under pressure from leadership. Representatives Nick LaLota of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska ultimately switched to support the measure.
Democrats mounted fierce opposition to the spending cuts, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries brandishing an Elmo doll during floor remarks.
“It actually represents an attack on children. This is extraordinary to me,” Jeffries said. “We’re on the floor of the House of Representatives, not debating legislation that is designed to make this country and our economy more affordable, but actually debating legislation that targets Elmo and Big Bird and Daniel Tiger and Sesame Street.”
Trump had pushed all House Republicans to back the measure, calling it a “no-brainer” as congressional leaders work to address the nation’s unsustainable $36 trillion deficit.
The legislation would eliminate funding for multiple wasteful United Nations programs, including the UN Children’s Fund, UN Development Program, UN Population Fund, World Health Organization, and portions of the UN Regular Budget for the UN Human Rights Council, and UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (which ends up directly in the hands of Hamas terrorists).
A draft White House memo accused the Corporation for Public Broadcasting of a “lengthy history of anti-conservative bias” and noted that NPR CEO Katherine Maher once called Trump a “fascist” and “deranged racist” – statements Maher admitted to Congress last month but says she now regrets making.
The package calls for rescinding $535 million in Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding in both fiscal years 2026 and 2027, totaling the $1.1 billion cut.
The bill’s prospects in the Senate remain uncertain. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the chamber will focus first on Trump’s larger tax and spending bill before addressing the spending cut package.
“We’ll do reconciliation first so I would expect that rescissions package probably will be a July timeframe,” Thune said, adding that the Senate “could” tweak parts of the legislation.
The spending cut package requires only a simple majority in the Senate, meaning Republicans can afford to lose three of their own members assuming all Democrats vote against it.
The successful vote represents a significant win for Johnson and hardline conservatives who had pressured leadership to codify DOGE’s cuts permanently into law. The vote came amid a recent reconciliation between Trump and Elon Musk following their public feud last week over Trump’s broader legislative agenda.
Trump has “done this before, and they’ve got a great team, I think, in place,” Cole said about the spending cuts. “They’ve thought about these things a lot in the time in between His first and his second term. And there’s no question, the President has much more influence inside the Republican Party than he had during his first term.”