Less than 48 hours before a hard deadline, Senate Republicans passed a rescission bill early Thursday morning codifying roughly $9 billion in Department of Government Efficiency cuts.
In a 51-48 vote, two Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski — joined all voting Democrats in opposing the rescission package, after senators amended the legislation to remove certain cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief program. (Democratic Sen. Tina Smith missed the vote due to a hospital stay.)
The decision to amend the legislation, in this case, is significant. It means the bill will have to go back to the House and pass there, once again, with just hours to spare before a midnight deadline on Friday.