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Congress sends $9B spending cuts package to Trump’s desk after late-night House vote
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Congress is officially sending a package detailing $9 billion in spending cuts to President Donald Trump’s desk, minutes after midnight on Friday.
The bill, called a «rescissions package,» was approved by the House of Representatives in a late-night 216 to 213 vote after intense debate between Republicans and Democrats. Just two Republicans, Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., and Mike Turner, R-Ohio, voted in opposition.
Friday was also the deadline for passing the legislation, otherwise the White House would be forced to re-obligate those funds as planned.
It’s a victory for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., but a mostly symbolic one – the spending cuts bill was largely seen by Trump allies as a test run of a fiscal claw-back process not used in more than two decades.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson ushered through President Donald Trump’s spending cuts (Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«This bill tonight is part of continuing that trend of getting spending under control. Does it answer all the problems? No. $9 billion, I would say is a good start,» House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said during debate on the bill.
When signed by Trump, it will block $8 billion in funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for the remainder of the fiscal year. The dollars had been allocated by Congress for the duration of fiscal year 2025.
Republicans celebrated it as a victory for cutting off the flow of U.S. taxpayer dollars to what they called «woke» initiatives abroad, while Democrats accused the right of gutting critical foreign aid.
Rescissions packages are a way for the president to have input in Congress’ yearly appropriations process. The White House sends a proposal to block some congressionally obligated funds, which lawmakers have 45 days to get through the House and Senate.
Republicans have also been able to sideline Democrats so far, with the rescissions process lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.
The last time a rescissions package was signed into law was 1999.
Consideration of the bill began with a House Rules Committee hearing at 6 p.m. on Thursday evening.
Ranking member Rep. Jim McGovern attempted to force multiple voted related to Jeffrey Epstein (Tom Williams)
Democrats attempted multiple times throughout the process to weaponize the ongoing inter-GOP fallout over the Jeffrey Epstein case, both in the House Rules Committee and on the chamber floor during debate on the bill.
Multiple calls were made for votes to force the release of the so-called Epstein «files.»
«If every Republican votes to block our attempt to release the records, they are telling Epstein’s victims, you don’t matter as much as our political convenience. And that should disgust every single one of us,» said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass.
Far-right GOP figures are demanding accountability, while Trump has called on his base to move on after the Department of Justice (DOJ) signaled the case was closed.
Initial plans to begin advancing the bill earlier in the day were quickly scuttled, with Republicans on the committee being concerned about being put into a difficult position with potential Epstein votes.
In the end, a compromise led to the House Rules Committee advancing a separate nonbinding measure dealing with Epstein transparency, on a parallel track to the rescissions bill.
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«All the credible evidence should come out. I’ve been very clear with members of the House Rules Committee. Republicans have been taking the incoming criticism because they voted to stop the Democrats’ politicization of this, and they’re trying to stick to their job and move their procedural rules to the floor so we can do our work and get the rescissions done for the American people,» Johnson told reporters during negotiations earlier in the day.
Democrats nevertheless pressed on, mentioning Epstein multiple times on the House floor. McGovern even briefly led a chant of «release the files» when closing debate on the bill.
Republicans, in turn, accused Democrats of hypocrisy.
«Interesting how they talk about Jeffrey Epstein, because for four years, Mr. Speaker, President Joe Biden had those files, and not a single Democrat that you’re hearing tonight tried to get those files released,» House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said at one point during the House floor debate.
The House initially voted to advance a $9.4 billion rescissions package, but it was trimmed somewhat in the Senate after some senators had concerns about cutting funding for HIV/AIDS prevention research in Africa.
Trump is expected to sign the bill on Friday.
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President Donald Trump delivered a sweeping to-do list to Congress during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, urging lawmakers seven separate times to take action on priorities ranging from drug pricing and border security to crime and housing policy.
Codify «Trump Rx» Prescription Drug Pricing
Trump urged Congress to enshrine his «Most-Favored-Nation» drug pricing policy into law as part of his «Trump Rx» initiative. The policy aims to tie U.S. prescription drug prices to the lowest prices paid by other developed nations.
Earlier this month, his administration launched the TrumpRx website, a federal platform designed to allow Americans to search for select brand-name medications and access lower negotiated prices.
The site stems from agreements the White House said in December it reached with nine major pharmaceutical companies, including Amgen, Merck, Novartis, Sanofi and Bristol Myers Squibb. It lists dozens of high-cost drugs offered at discount prices to treat conditions such as diabetes, asthma, HIV, hepatitis C, multiple sclerosis and cardiovascular disease.
A page on the TrumpRx site is displayed on Feb. 9, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Despite suggesting it would be politically difficult to reverse the policy, Trump told lawmakers to «codify it anyway.»
Make Ban on Wall Street Home Purchases Permanent
After highlighting the story of a Houston mother outbid on 20 homes by investment firms, Trump asked Congress to make permanent his executive order banning large Wall Street-backed firms from buying single-family homes in bulk. «We want homes for people, not for corporations,» he said.
Pass the «Stop Insider Trading Act»
While outlining retirement policy changes and pledging to protect Social Security and Medicare, Trump pivoted to ethics reform, calling on lawmakers to «pass the ‘Stop Insider Trading Act’ without delay.»
The measure would ban members of Congress from buying individual stocks and require advance public notice before sales.
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Lawmakers attend the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Wis., who introduced the bill, told FOX Business in January, «If you want to trade stocks you should go to Wall Street, not to Capitol Hill. I think we have an opportunity here to dramatically improve America’s trust in Congress.»
Pass the «Dalilah Law»
Following the story of a young girl seriously injured in a crash involving an illegal immigrant truck driver, Trump called on Congress to pass what he dubbed the «Dalilah Law,» barring states from issuing commercial driver’s licenses to people in the country illegally.
«Dalilah Coleman was only 5 years old in June 2024 when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer plowed into her stopped car, traveling at 60 miles an hour or more,» Trump said. «The driver was an illegal alien let in by Joe Biden and given a commercial driver’s license by open borders politicians in California.»
Coleman’s father said the crash left her in a coma for three weeks and required six months of hospital treatment before her family could bring her home.
Restore Border and Homeland Security Funding
Trump accused Democrats of cutting off funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which is currently operating under a partial shutdown after lawmakers failed to reach an agreement on a funding bill.
He demanded the «full and immediate restoration» of border and homeland security funding, framing it as essential to protecting Americans from crime and terrorism.
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President Donald Trump speaks during the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
End Sanctuary Cities
The president also urged lawmakers to end so-called sanctuary city policies, calling for «serious penalties» against public officials who block the removal of criminal illegal immigrants.
«They’re blocking the removal of these people out of our country. And you should be ashamed of yourself,» Trump told Democrats to loud Republican cheers.
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President Donald Trump leaves after delivering the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 24, 2026, in Washington, D.C. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Pass Tougher Laws for Repeat Offenders
Closing his legislative appeals, Trump asked Congress to pass stricter sentencing laws to ensure «violent and dangerous repeat offenders are put behind bars — and, importantly, that they stay there.»
He cited the death of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee, who was stabbed to death on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August.
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«Iryna was riding home on the train when a deranged monster who had been arrested over a dozen times and was released through no cash bail, stood up and viciously slashed a knife through her neck and body. No one will ever forget there were people on that train,» Trump said. «No one will ever forget the expression of terror on Iryna’s face as she looked up at her attacker in the last seconds of her life. She died instantly. She had escaped a brutal war, only to be slain by a hardened criminal set free to kill in America.»
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Ukraine to meet Trump envoys ahead of high-stakes Geneva talks with Russia as war enters fifth year
Russia-Ukraine war enters fifth year
Fox News senior foreign affairs correspondent Greg Palkot joins ‘America Reports’ to discuss the start of the fifth year in the war between Russia and Ukraine, the impact it has had on both countries and the ongoing efforts to negotiate peace.
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Representatives from Ukraine and the U.S. are reportedly set to meet ahead of high-stakes trilateral talks in Geneva that will include Russian envoys. The report about the meeting comes just after the Russia-Ukraine war entered its fifth year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told reporters about the Thursday U.S.-Ukraine meeting, The Associated Press reported. The Ukrainian leader reportedly said that Thursday’s meeting would focus on the possibility of post-war recovery for Ukraine as well as preparations for an upcoming trilateral meeting with Russia, according to the AP.
The meeting is expected to involve Rustem Umerov, Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, according to the AP, which cited Zelenskyy. Additionally, Umerov’s press secretary Diana Davytian told the AP that the meeting would take place in Geneva. The outlet noted that the Swiss city is also expected to be the site of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations on the same day as the trilateral talks.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and U.S. President Donald Trump shake hands during their meeting at the sidelines of the 56th annual World Economic Forum (WEF), in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2026. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via Reuters)
Zelenskyy said that he had tasked Umerov with discussing a possible prisoner exchange, the AP reported. He added that Ukraine would like the talks with Russia to take place next week.
The Trump administration’s push to end the years-long war has brought Russian and Ukrainian envoys to the table in both Abu Dhabi and Geneva, though the meetings have yet to produce a breakthrough for peace.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have both met separately with President Donald Trump. Despite a peace deal agreement being close, territorial disputes remain, Zelenskyy said. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP; Christian Bruna/Getty)
PUTIN PUTS ‘NUCLEAR TRIAD’ ON FAST TRACK, ZELENSKYY CLAIMS ‘WORLD WAR 3’ UNDERWAY
Last week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on X that he had met with Zelenskyy and discussed «Ukraine’s security and deepening defense and economic partnerships.»
«President Trump wants a solution that ends the bloodshed once and for all,» Rubio wrote.
Additionally, last week, Zelenskyy said that he spoke with Witkoff and Kushner ahead of the trilateral meetings in Geneva, which he said the Ukrainian government expects to be «truly productive.»
«We also discussed some developments following the meetings in Abu Dhabi. Not everything can be shared over the phone, and our negotiating team will present Ukraine’s position next week. I also spoke about our meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. We greatly appreciate that America consistently maintains a constructive approach and is ready to assist in protecting lives,» Zelenskyy wrote on X. «I thank President Trump, his team, and the people of the United States for their support.»
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the U.S. gave Ukraine and Russia a June deadline to end the war. (Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images; Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Kristina Solovyova / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)
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On Tuesday, which was the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Zelenskyy stood firm, saying that Putin had not defeated Ukraine nor broken the country’s spirit. The statement came as Ukrainian forces made the biggest gains since 2024, according to the AP, which cited the Institute for the Study of War. The institute noted that Ukranian forces have pushed back on Russia’s army at points along the front line in eastern areas of the country.
The State Department did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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world,russia,ukraine,volodymyr zelenskyy,donald trump,vladimir putin
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