How Trump’s new budget cuts could endanger the 2026 federal budget

Senate Republicans hope to approve a $9.4 billion rescissions package this week that will rescind $8.3 billion from foreign aid programs and $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. If the bill is passed, it will have serious implications for government funding this year and next, as Democrats say the package could erode their willingness to work across the aisle.

Just as the “Big, Beautiful Bill” that was approved using the budget reconciliation process, a rescissions package only needs a simple majority vote in the Senate. Democrats are not happy that Republicans plan to change previously agreed to provisions once again.

“These investments were negotiated on a bipartisan basis between Democrats and Republicans, as part of the government funding process,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a speech on the Senate floor. “And with a simple majority vote, Republicans could take away the investments many of them voted for, and renege on their word.”

Democrats on the fence

Democrats say they may not be willing to support the fiscal year 2026 budget if Republicans move forward with the rescissions package. Annual budgets, called appropriations bills, require 60 votes for approval. The Senate has 53 Republicans and 47 Democrats, so the chamber will have to work on a bipartisan basis to fund the government.

Because rescissions and reconciliation packages only require a simple majority, Republicans can approve them alone. Democrats are concerned that Republicans will make a deal to secure 60 votes for the appropriations bill, only to remove the provisions they sought in a rescissions or reconciliation package.

“How are we supposed to negotiate a bipartisan deal if Republicans will turn around and put it through the shredder in a partisan vote,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said.

Dems warn of ‘grave implications’

The White House is asking Congress to cut back on spending. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting gives funding to NPR and PBS stations around the country, and Republicans contend that both those organizations have a left-leaning bias in their news coverage. Republicans also say some foreign aid programs have strayed away from their missions, while others were wasteful or fraudulent from their inception.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., confirmed he wants to bring the bill up for a vote and amendments.

“To ratify some of the good work the administration has done in identifying wasteful and inappropriate uses of taxpayer dollars,” Thune stated.

Schumer is warning Republicans that the rescissions package will have “grave implications” for Congress and the legislative branch. He’s already telling his fellow Democrats that they should not give Republicans the votes they need to fund the government, if the GOP is willing to cut it later.