The Senate voted 51-50 on Tuesday night to advance President Donald Trump’s proposed $9 billion rescission package, with Vice President J.D. Vance casting the tie-breaking vote after three Republican senators joined Democrats in opposition.
Senators Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) voted against the measure, leaving the 53-seat Republican majority just enough room for Vance to intervene.
JD Vance is needed to break the tie on the first “DOGE CUT” rescissions package sent by the White House to Congress…
This will cut $1.1 BILLION from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $8.3 BILLION from USAID.
LET’S GO VP VANCE! pic.twitter.com/yn18ZnOIa7
— Shawn Farash (@Shawn_Farash) July 16, 2025
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It marked the sixth time the Vice President has cast a deciding vote since the start of Trump’s second term in office.
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The vote sends the legislation into a critical phase, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) faces a July 18 deadline to move the full rescissions package through the chamber.
If Congress fails to act by the end of the week, the administration would be legally required to spend the full $9 billion in funds that the White House is attempting to claw back.
In a last-minute attempt to secure broader GOP support, the White House and Senate Republican leadership agreed to remove a proposed $400 million cut to global HIV/AIDS relief funding from the package.
The adjustment was aimed at appealing to moderate Republicans, including Collins, who had expressed concerns over the original language.
Despite the concession, Collins still voted against advancing the revised version of the proposal.
Because of the change, the House of Representatives will be required to vote on the rescission bill a second time.
The original House version passed with four Republicans voting in opposition. It is unclear whether the updated version will change the calculus in the lower chamber.
White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought defended the updated package and downplayed the reduction from $9.4 billion to $9 billion.
“From a $9.4 billion package to a $9 billion package, that’s something that’s very exciting for the American taxpayer,” Vought told reporters following the vote.
“Big chunks of this proposal are not falling out.”
President Trump has prioritized the rescission effort as part of a broader fiscal initiative to rein in unspent discretionary funds across federal agencies.
The package includes funding rollbacks across multiple departments, including unused COVID-era spending, administrative overhead, and unallocated foreign aid.
Senators Collins, Murkowski, and McConnell have consistently diverged from President Trump on key legislative priorities during his second term, including the confirmation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump’s stance on tariffs.
Their opposition to the rescission package continued that trend, with each citing different reservations about specific provisions within the bill.
The legislation now faces another round of negotiations as House and Senate leaders prepare for a final vote before the July 18 deadline.
If passed, the package would mark one of the largest mid-year federal spending clawbacks in recent history.
