House passes bill to claw back $9.4B in federal spending, codify cuts to PBS and NPR

Big Bird and Elmo are about to lose out. 

House Republicans narrowly passed a bill Thursday to cut $9.4 billion worth of federal spending, effectively codifying several actions by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The so-called rescissions package axes approximately $8.3 billion previously allocated to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1.1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which partially finances National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS).

The 214-212 vote sends the measure to the Senate, where it will only need a simple majority to advance to President Trump’s desk.

Four Republicans — Mark Amodei of Nevada, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Nicole Malliotakis of New York and Mike Turner of Ohio joined 208 Democrats in voting against the bill. Six lawmakers — four Democrats and two Republicans — didn’t vote. 

At least two Republicans, Reps. Nick LaLota of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska initially voted no, but ultimately flipped their votes amid pressure from GOP leadership.

“I want to thank DOGE for their heroic and patriotic efforts,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters. “What we’re trying to do is ensure that every dollar spent by the federal government is used efficiently and effectively.”

“Republicans will continue to deliver real accountability and restore fiscal discipline.”

Democrats had raged against the cuts, with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) brandishing an Elmo doll during his remarks to argue that children’s television programming was on the chopping block.

“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.”

The rescissions package takes back funding that had been used for items such as an Iraqi version of “Sesame Street” ($3 million), constructing “Net Zero Cities” in Mexico ($6 million), and educating children on how to make environmentally friendly reproductive decisions ($2 million).

A draft White House memo first reported by The Post in April said the rescissions would target “waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spending.”

The memo, drafted by White House budget director Russ Vought — and requested by GOP congressional leaders — accused CPB of a “lengthy history of anti-conservative bias.”

The draft also notes that NPR CEO Katherine Maher once called Trump a “fascist” and a “deranged racist” — statements that Maher told Congress last month she now regrets making — and cites two recent PBS programs featuring transgender characters.

Trump had praised the measure as a “no-brainer” and pushed all House Republicans to back it. 

Once the White House transmits a rescission bill to Congress, which it did on June 3, the legislative body will have 45 days to act on it. 

Republicans had faced backlash last month after tech mogul Elon Musk publicly backed complaints that Congress hadn’t codified any of his DOGE work, despite promising to do so. That ultimately prompted GOP leadership to pledge to begin cementing his government efficiency initiatives into law.

Rescissions only allow Congress to cancel funding that had previously been appropriated for fiscal year 2025, in keeping with the Impoundment Control Act of 1974.

During his first term, Trump had only pursued one rescissions package totaling about $14.7 billion, which failed in the Senate by a 50-48 vote.

Former Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama and George W. Bush all declined to pursue rescissions packages, according to the Government Accountability Office.

The effort comes amid heightened pressure from fiscal hawks to rein in government spending. Trump’s marquee One Big Beautiful Bill Act features a net $1.25 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years, per the Congressional Budget Office.

The cuts in the megabill come from mandatory spending, particularly Medicaid. The rescission package only applies to discretionary spending, which is about a quarter of government outlays.

House Republicans had nestled a series of technical legislative fixes into the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which passed the lower chamber last month, into a procedural vote to advance the rescissions package Wednesday.

The megabill would add $3 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, according to a CBO estimate.

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