What's in the Republican bill cutting $9 billion from public broadcasting and foreign aid

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Republican-led Congress has passed President Donald Trump’s request to claw back about $9 billion in public broadcasting and foreign aid spending.

Trump's Republican administration is employing a rarely used tool that allows the president to transmit a request to cancel previously approved funding authority. Democrats tried to kill the measure but needed more Republicans uncomfortable with the president’s effort to join them.

The Senate approved the vast majority of Trump's request in the early morning hours Thursday, 51-48. The House followed suit early Friday, 216-213. The measure now goes to the president to be signed into law.

Here's a closer look at what's in the bill:

Trump asked lawmakers to rescind nearly $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which represents the full amount it’s due to receive during the next two budget years.

The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense.

The corporation distributes more than 70% of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said public broadcasting has been taken over by “partisan activists.”

Still, the potential fallout from the cuts for local public media stations generated concerns on both sides of the political aisle.

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he secured a deal from the White House that some funding administered by the Interior Department would be repurposed to subsidize Native American public radio stations in about a dozen states.

But many lawmakers say that won't help a large number of local broadcasting stations. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., unsuccessfully sought to take out the public broadcasting cuts.

“If we don’t adopt this amendment, local television and radio stations will shut down and it will be rural stations that will be the first to close,” Baldwin said.

To justify the spending cuts, the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers cited certain activities they disagree with to portray a wide range of a program’s funding as wasteful.

In recent testimony, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought criticized programming aimed at fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion. He said NPR aired a 2022 program entitled “What ‘Queer Ducks’ can teach teenagers about sexuality in the animal kingdom." He also cited a special town hall that CNN held in 2020 with “Sesame Street” about combating racism.

As part of the package, Trump asked lawmakers to rescind almost $8.3 billion in foreign aid programs that aim to fight famine and disease and promote global stability.

A Senate amendment knocked the foreign aid cuts down to about $7.9 billion when Republicans agreed to remove what would have been a $400 million cut to PEPFAR, the politically popular program that began under President George W. Bush to combat HIV/AIDS. The program is credited with saving millions of lives.

Among the rescissions in the bill:

— $500 million of the $4 billion appropriated for global health programs funding activities to combat infectious diseases and promote maternal health.

— $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and sanitation and family reunification for those forced to flee their own country.

— $4.15 billion for two programs designed to boost the economies and democratic institutions in developing and strategically important countries.

— $496 million to provide humanitarian assistance such as food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts.

—$361 million for international peacekeeping efforts, which are designed to stabilize conflict zones and protect civilians.

The Trump administration also said some cuts, such as eliminating funding for UNICEF, would encourage international organizations to be more efficient and seek contributions from other nations, "putting American taxpayers first.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., leaves the chamber at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — In the aftermath of a fire inside a Swiss Alpine bar that killed 40 people celebrating the new year, survivors, friends and family members, the region’s top authorities and even Pope Leo have spoken to the public in remarks in French, Italian, German and English, reflecting the tradition of Swiss multilingualism.

Another 119 people were injured in the blaze early Thursday as it ripped through the busy Le Constellation bar at the ski resort of Crans-Montana, authorities said. It was one of the deadliest tragedies in Switzerland’s history.

Investigators said Friday that they believe sparkling candles atop Champagne bottles ignited the fatal fire when they came too close to the ceiling of the crowded bar.

Here’s a look at what people said in the wake of the disaster:

— “I’m looking everywhere. The body of my son is somewhere,” Laetitia Brodard told reporters Friday in Crans-Montana as she searched for her son, 16-year-old Arthur. “I want to know, where is my child, and be by his side. Wherever that may be, be it in the intensive care unit or the morgue.”

— “We were bringing people out, people were collapsing. We were doing everything we could to save them, we helped as many as we could. We saw people screaming, running,” Marc-Antoine Chavanon, 14, told The Associated Press in Crans-Montana on Friday, recounting how he rushed to the bar to help the injured. “There was one of our friends: She was struggling to get out, she was all burned. You can’t imagine the pain I saw.”

— “It was hard to live through for everyone. Also probably because everyone was asking themselves, ‘Was my child, my cousin, someone from the region at this party?’” Eric Bonvin, general director of the regional hospital in Sion that took in dozens of injured people, told AP on Friday. “This place was very well known as somewhere to celebrate the new year,” Bonvin said. “Also, seeing young people arrive — that’s always traumatic.”

— “I have seen horror, and I don’t know what else would be worse than this,” Gianni Campolo, a Swiss 19-year-old who was in Crans-Montana on vacation and rushed to the bar to help first responders, told France's TF1 television.

—“You will understand that the priority today is truly placed on identification, in order to allow the families to begin their mourning,” Beatrice Pilloud, the Valais region's attorney general, told reporters Friday during a news conference in Sion.

Pope Leo said in a telegram Friday to the bishop of Sion that he " wishes to express his compassion and concern to the relatives of the victims. He prays that the Lord will welcome the deceased into His abode of peace and light, and will sustain the courage of those who suffer in their hearts or in their bodies.”

— “We have numerous accounts of heroic actions, one could say of very strong solidarity in the moment,” Cantonal head of government Mathias Reynard told RTS radio Friday. "In the first minutes it was citizens — and in large part young people — who saved lives with their courage.”

— “Switzerland is a strong country not because it is sheltered from drama, but because it knows how to face them with courage and a spirit of mutual help," Swiss President Guy Parmelin, speaking on his first day in the position that changes hands annually, told reporters Thursday.

People bring flowers near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)

A woman holding a stuffed animal, whose daughter is missing, gather with others near the sealed-off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/Baz Ratner)

People light candles near the sealed off Le Constellation bar in Crans-Montana, Swiss Alps, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 2, 2026, where a devastating fire left dead and injured during the New Year's celebrations. (AP Photo/ Antonio Calanni)