Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) considers the weeks of vote-wrangling as the GOP’s test of “political will” for spending cuts in Trump’s second term.

The fight over how the Trump administration has handled disclosures relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is holding up final approval of a bill to codify $9 billion in Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts to public broadcasting and foreign aid.

In the past week, the Epstein controversy caused turmoil among some of the MAGA base. Has it affected Trump's approval rating?

Forty percent of business leaders believed the economy would grow over the next six months, with 26% expecting it to remain stable.

The Senate is working overnight into the early hours of Thursday morning as it weighs whether to claw back $9 billion in federal funds already congressionally approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting programs as a deadline to act on the White House priority looms.

A group of 15 fiscal conservatives in the House sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Tuesday warning that “weakening” the cuts would “undermine both his leadership and the discipline our budget urgently demands.” Instead, the group urged the Senate to pass the rescissions package as-is.

House faces a Friday deadline to approve $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting. ©2025 FOX News Network, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. All market data delayed 20 minutes.

Republican Senators have the votes to pass a bill that will cut $9 billion in funds already appropriated by Congress. The vote is expected to happen today.

The House is looking at President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency’s spending cuts after Senate Republicans agreed to cancel $9 billion in funding to foreign aid and public broadcasting.