House Republican leaders are charging ahead with a rescission bill on Thursday that would codify $9.4 billion in controversial cuts made by the Department of Government Efficiency, counting on vulnerable Republicans worried about associating themselves with the unpopular DOGE agency to simply cave.
Early indications are that these more moderate Republicans will do just that.
Speaker Mike Johnson’s whip operation continues to make progress, moving members toward supporting the package.
Take Rep. Don Bacon, one of the undecided moderates who has voiced concerns about the rescission package. When asked how he plans to vote, Bacon told reporters Tuesday he’s “going to keep my cards close right now.”
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But if he’s guarding his hand, Bacon did provide a tell. He indicated that some of his long-standing concerns about $9 million in cuts to an HIV-AIDS relief program have been assuaged.
“They’re not touching the medical side of it,” Bacon said of the bill’s provisions addressing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, commonly referred to as PEPFAR, after a closed-door meeting Tuesday.
Hours later, Bacon told NOTUS in a statement that it’s “an 8% cut to PEPFAR.”
“The medical care to counter aids and to protect unborn children with moms who have aids will still be funded. That is good. It is concerning that aids prevention programs are being cut. I was told last week that the entire program was being cut, so where we are at today is better than last week,” Bacon said.
While the PEPFAR cuts might not be as steep as some Republicans had anticipated, the package still slashes $7.4 billion from other foreign-assistance programs, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations Children’s Fund. It also would cut $1.1 billion from public broadcasting, which remains popular in many rural districts that Republicans represent.
For moderates, the rescission vote will, once again, put them in a politically precarious position. GOP leaders are asking Republicans to back cuts to programs their party has historically supported. And as the mastermind of the cuts, Elon Musk, falls out of favor in Trumpworld, there’s even less incentive for vulnerable Republicans to stick their necks out for legislation that Democrats are eager to attack.
As of Tuesday afternoon, vulnerable Republicans like Reps. Rob Bresnahan, Nick LaLota, Gabe Evans, Young Kim, Juan Ciscomani, Mike Lawler and Brian Fitzpatrick had all not taken a public stance on the rescission bill.
But given Johnson’s track record of getting moderates in line — and the track record of moderates falling in line — there’s reason to believe Republicans will actually pull off another tough vote. Time and again, on government funding and multiple reconciliation votes, Johnson has persuaded moderates to take a political leap in the name of furthering the Trump agenda.
One important sign that Johnson is in a good place on the bill is that no Republican has actually come out against the legislation.
Moderates seem to be leaving themselves room to vote yes. And unlike when Johnson has faced organized resistance from conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus on other legislation, moderates aren’t banding together to make demands on the rescission package.
They do appear, however, to be buying time with a common excuse on Capitol Hill: ‘I’m still looking at it.’
“I’m still undecided only because I don’t have enough information and communication,” Bresnahan told reporters Tuesday morning.
A spokesperson for Kim told NOTUS that the congresswoman has been “asking leadership for specifics on what’s included but is monitoring closely.”
And Rep. Dan Newhouse told NOTUS on Tuesday afternoon that he hasn’t made a decision about the package.
“I just want to know where it is for sure, where we’re going to be taking the money from isn’t contrary to what our priorities are,” Newhouse said.
When asked by NOTUS if he was a “no” on the rescission package, Rep. Mark Amodei said “not yet,” though he has shared concerns over the proposed cuts to public broadcasting.
Still, top House Republicans are projecting confidence that they will win over the holdouts. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters at leadership’s weekly press conference on Tuesday that his team has been “answering questions from our members, but our members are ready to go lock in some of those DOGE cuts.”
“DOGE identified waste, fraud and abuse in so many areas of the federal government,” Scalise said. “This is a start. It’s a good start. It’s an important first step, and we’re going to take it on Thursday.”
Leadership allies have also laid out a messaging blueprint for lawmakers to, at least rhetorically, support U.S. foreign aid and public broadcasting while swallowing the rescission cuts.
“There’s a role for American leadership abroad,” Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota told reporters. “There’s also a role for strong public broadcasting.”
“South Dakota Public Broadcasting does a good job,” Johnson continued. “These rescissions are not going to be comfortable for them, but listen, I’ve got confidence that we’re going to continue to have strong American leadership abroad, and that outfits like South Dakota Public Broadcasting continue to meet their mission.”
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Riley Rogerson and Daniella Diaz are reporters at NOTUS.
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