After all the heat Trump took over the Big Beautiful Bill and its ballooning deficit, the pivot is on. Enter: DOGE Cuts. Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is floating a $9.4 billion rescissions package — modest by federal standards, but symbolically important. It targets public media like NPR and PBS, as well as USAID and other foreign aid programs. The logic is clear: if you’re going to cut, start with the stuff that either feels unnecessary or distant.
The GOP is split. MAGA influencers love it. Speaker Johnson’s ready to move. But there are warning signs. Susan Collins and Don Bacon are squirmy. Rand Paul says it’s not aggressive enough. And public media, despite being a favorite target, isn’t exactly hated. Conservatives like Ken Burns docs too. The challenge isn’t just votes — it’s whether the political capital spent on $9.4 billion is worth it when the debt is in the trillions.
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