The Senate approved President Trump’s rescission package early Thursday, handing the administration a huge policy and fiscal win. At 2:30 a.m., the Senate voted to cut $9 billion in funding for foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The final vote was 51-48 with Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting against the bill, because, of course, they did, and Minnesota Democrat Tina Smith missing the vote because she was hospitalized for undisclosed reasons. Senator Mitch McConnell, true to form, switched his vote to support the bill at the last minute after wringing all the attention he could out of a threat to vote against the spending cuts. The House is scheduled to vote on the package by Friday.
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The lion’s share of the cuts, about $8 billion, comes from foreign aid spending; however, in the end, $400 million earmarked for President George W. Bush’s signature