Senate Republicans Race Against the Clock on Rescissions

There will likely be changes to the bill before it’s sent back to the House, but the clock is ticking.

John Thune
Senate Majority Leader John Thune conducts a news conference at the U.S. Capitol. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP

Republicans are quickly approaching a July 18 deadline to pass a recission package that would codify $9.4 billion of the Department of Government Efficiency’s cuts into law. But at the moment, even with a rare 50-vote threshold for passage in the Senate, Republicans don’t seem to have the votes.

A handful of GOP senators have expressed major concerns about President Donald Trump’s rescission package — ranging from specific cuts to the legislation’s potential impact on the appropriations process. And if Senate Republicans have to amend the House-passed bill, that could jeopardize the entire measure at this point.

“I have some reservations about it. So we’ll just see,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, a member of Senate Republican leadership, told reporters Tuesday.