House Passes DOGE Cuts Targeting Foreign Aid, NPR, And PBS

The GOP-led House moved on Thursday to cut billions in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, aligning with the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) recommendations to cut programs Republicans deem to be wasteful and ideologically driven.

A rescissions bill that seeks to take back $9.4 billion in discretionary spending allocated toward foreign aid projects and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funds to NPR and PBS, passed in a vote of 214-212 mostly along party lines.

“President Trump promised to root out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, and today House Republicans took a strong step in delivering on that promise,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN) told The Daily Wire. “By solidifying savings found by DOGE, we’re reining in reckless spending and getting our fiscal house in order.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) introduced the bill after President Donald Trump’s administration submitted a rescissions package seeking the cuts last week. Under the Impoundment Control Act, lawmakers have 45 days to act on the request, and it requires only a simple majority in the House and Senate — meaning the filibuster threshold can be ignored.

The legislation proposes cutting $8.3 billion from U.S. Agency for International Development and the State Department programs, including funding for “Net Zero Cities” in Mexico, Iraqi “Sesame Street,” and global LGBTQ+ initiatives, and $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, targeting NPR and PBS following choices such as ignoring the Hunter Biden laptop story and trans-focused programming.

Gift Dad an All Access Membership. Use code DAD40 at checkout to save 40%!

While the House debated the bill, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) held up a doll of Elmo from “Sesame Street.” He bemoaned how lawmakers were debating legislation that “targets Elmo, and Big Bird, and Daniel Tiger, and ‘Sesame Street'” rather than a bill “designed to make this country and our economy more affordable.” Scalise delivered a rebuttal in which he affirmed “Sesame Street” is “doing just fine” after being picked up by Netflix. “What will go away is some of the far-Left, radical views that are being espoused,” he added.

A continuation of the cuts is possible if they make it into fiscal 2026 legislation. Sources on Capitol Hill and the White House expect more requests to implement the so-called DOGE cuts to follow, assuming the first bill manages to pass through both chambers of Congress. It’s part of a wider effort to reduce the deficit, including income from tariffs and reining in the budget with the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” and the appropriations process.

In a post on Truth Social before the vote, Trump called the rescissions bill a “NO BRAINER” and encouraged Republicans to vote for it to “‘claw back’ $9.4 BILLION DOLLARS in funding for wasteful Foreign Aid, used for Radical ‘DEI’ and the Green New SCAM, and the ‘Corporation for Public Broadcasting,’ which funds the highly biased NPR and PBS.”