SENATE REPUBLICANS VOTE TO CUT $9 BILLION IN FOREIGN AID, PUBLIC BROADCASTING:

Senate Republicans narrowly passed a $9 billion recessions package aimed at eliminating “waste, fraud, and abuse” identified by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) early on Thursday morning.

The Senate voted 51-48, with Senators Susan Collins (R., Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) joining Democrats in opposing it. The package will now be sent to the House, which must pass it before a Friday deadline.

Under the Impoundment Control Act, Congress had 45 days to act on the White House’s rescissions request in early June if it wished to ignore the filibuster threshold.

The bill will end $8 billion in funding for foreign aid programs, such as Iraqi Sesame Street and global LGBTQ+ initiatives, and $1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds PBS and NPR.

Oh no, Iraqi Sesame Street is being cancelled!

Cancelling that is almost as bad cancelling Afghani lessons in modern art: