As the U.S. Senate tees up for a final vote on President Donald Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package, conservatives are urging Congress to use the momentum as a stepping stone for even deeper cuts down the line.
Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., received pushback on the package from three key senators, requiring a tie-breaker vote from Vice President JD Vance to pass two procedural votes Tuesday night. Aware of the implications of a slim Republican majority, conservatives are mounting pressure on the GOP conference to get all hands on deck to pass the rescissions package ahead of Friday’s deadline.
Conservative advocacy group Advancing American Freedom, which was founded by former Vice President Mike Pence, circulated a letter to Republican senators Wednesday calling the rescissions package a “scalpel-like approach” to cut funding to programs like USAID, NPR and PBS.
“This package should be the first of a longer series of cuts,” the letter said. “Each one can go further, targeting programs that stray from constitutional purpose or national interest.”
The letter spoke specifically to Republican holdouts whose “no” votes threaten to tank the clawback legislation. These holdouts include Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who opposed two procedural motions on the rescissions package.
“Your vote is ultimately the least the Senate can do in terms of reining in our bloated federal bureaucracy,” AAF said.
The group’s letter puts pressure on freshmen members of Congress and highlighted how a vote of support gives first-time senators the opportunity to publicly align with Trump’s message, whose support is a major asset in re-election campaigns.
“This package gives many members the first chance of their tenure to cut a dollar of wasteful Washington spending,” AAF President Tim Chapman told The Center Square. “We hope members will try to exercise this new muscle.”
The Senate is set to begin debate on amendments to the rescissions package Wednesday afternoon ahead of an expected Thursday vote.
