⚖️House grants Trump power to rescind $9 billion

On July 18, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly agreed to the Senate-amended Rescissions Act of 2025 by a 216–213 vote, authorizing President Donald Trump to rescind $7.9 billion in foreign aid and $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (rollcall.com, en.wikipedia.org). This marks the first presidential rescission package Congress has approved since fiscal year 1999, when it accepted $16.8 million of President Bill Clinton’s proposals under the expedited process created by the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (gao.gov). House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries led the opposition alongside all Democrats, while two moderate Republicans—Brian Fitzpatrick and Michael R. Turner—joined them in voting no, but fell short of blocking the measure (jeffries.house.gov, rollcall.com). The bill now heads to President Trump for signature, cementing the executive branch’s newfound authority to unilaterally claw back previously authorized funding, a shift critics warn undercuts Congress’s power of the purse (reuters.com).