The Senate is plowing ahead tonight on $9 billion in cuts to PBS, NPR and foreign aid, threats from Democrats be damned.

Why it matters: Democratic leaders — and some high-level Republicans — say budget rescissions undermine the trust they need to pass the annual bipartisan spending deals.

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has warned Republicans they'll be left to figure out a potential government shutdown on their own if they keep the partisan cuts coming.
• But GOP leaders insist they aren't worried.

Between the lines: Democrats have a "valid concern" about making spending deals just to be undone through rescissions, Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told reporters today.

• "We've actually shared with folks from the administration that the bigger challenge for them is — appropriations take 60 votes," Rounds said.

The other side: Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told us he didn't think the appropriations would be any more difficult because of the rescissions package.

• "I think we can have a bipartisan process," he said, pointing to the appropriations bills that have already been voted out of committee with Democratic support.
• He said the Senate could even start voting on appropriations bills or the National Defense Authorization Act as early as before the August recess.
• "I think our first markup went well. The second one was mixed, but we've reported bills out of committee. I expect we're going to report more tomorrow," Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) said on whether rescissions will complicate her job.

The simple math: Government spending bills require 60 votes to advance in the Senate.

• But rescission packages — which cut specific spending from a budget — can be passed with a simple majority, as they're set to tonight.
• "This is beyond a bait-and-switch — it is a bait and poison-to-kill," Schumer said earlier this month.

The big picture: Votes on rescission packages originating from the White House are rare.

• It hasn't been done successfully since 1999.

— Stef Kight, Stephen Neukam and Justin Green

Mainstream Senate Democrats are starting to echo their party's base, which has soured on supporting Israel.

Zoom in: Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), a moderate Democrat from a swing state, this week slammed the Israeli government for the lack of humanitarian aid in Gaza and violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.

• "There are times when, to me, it doesn't look like [Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] is prioritizing the hostage situation," Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told us. "Certainly, there's times when it looks like Hamas does not want a deal."
• "I think it's way overdue to have Democratic members of Congress speak up and speak out about the humanitarian disaster in Gaza," Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), another moderate who has criticized Israel since the start of the war, told us today.

The big picture: The comments are part of a significant shift in tone toward Netanyahu from the center of the Democratic Party.

• Slotkin's post on X this week addressed the killing of an American by Israeli settlers in the West Bank and slammed Netanyahu for a lack of accountability.
• Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who spent time in Iraq, told us today she has heard "lots of negative feedback" about her post following a "very rough weekend in the Middle East."

The other side: Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has emerged as one of the strongest pro-Israel voices in the party.

• Fetterman offered his full support of President Trump's decision to attack Iran last month, saying the U.S. commitment to Israel must be "absolute."

The bottom line: Progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) told us lawmakers are starting to understand "this is not just a moral issue, it's a political issue."

• Van Hollen, a leading Senate Democratic voice against the Netanyahu government, told us he's happy to have more Democrats speak up.

— Stephen Neukam

Janelle Stelson, a Pennsylvania Democrat who narrowly lost to Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in 2024, raised more than $500,000 in the first 48 hours since announcing for 2026, we scooped earlier tonight.

Why it matters: For a candidate essentially asking donors for a second chance, those are encouraging numbers.

• Bombshell fundraising announcements can also make other potential Democratic hopefuls think twice about jumping into the primary.
• "We are building the coalition needed to win this seat and it's clear that momentum is on our side," Stelson said in a statement to us.
• The DCCC tends to encourage repeat candidates more than its GOP counterparts, with 10 Democratic challengers who ran for a second time in competitive seats in 2024.

Perry raised $885,000 in the second quarter of 2025, with $282,000 coming from direct transfers for leadership accounts, leaving him with $1.2 million cash on hand.

Share this story

— Hans Nichols