JD Vance Breaks Tie in Key Rescissions Package Vote in Senate After These Three Republicans Betrayed Us

Matt Vespa reporting for Townhall 

There will always be three who give us heartburn. Shockingly, Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), who has become the new John McCain of the Senate regarding being a thorn in the side, opted not to break ranks on the recissions package, which codifies some $9 billion in cuts. The gutting of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and National Public Radio is included in this package, which barely advanced on a key vote to move the bill forward. Vice President JD Vance had to go up to the hill to break the 50-50 tie. Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) voted against advancing the bill (via WaPo):

Senate Republicans are racing to vote this week on whether to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and funding for public broadcasting ahead of a crucial Friday deadline. 

The rescissions bill is a top priority for the Trump administration, which plans to use the same process to seek deeper cuts in the future if it passes. But some Senate Republicans have balked at the cuts, forcing Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) to reverse course on some of them Tuesday in an attempt to secure enough votes to pass the bill.

Senate Republicans said they would remove $400 million in cuts to the HIV/AIDS relief program known as PEPFAR from the $9.4 billion package. Russell Vought, the White House budget director, said Republicans had the votes to pass the bill after lunching Tuesday with Republican senators.

Murkowski is not pleased with the cuts to PBS and NPR and doesn’t want to be a team player in getting the core tenets of the Trump agenda through.

UPDATE: Second hurdle cleared, Senate begins debate on the package.