Senate Republicans just made history—and not the kind that gets a round of applause from the Beltway elite or the D.C. cocktail circuit. In the early hours of Thursday morning, the GOP-led Senate passed a bold rescission package, clawing back $9 billion in taxpayer dollars from bloated foreign aid programs and the left-wing propaganda arms known as NPR and PBS. That’s right—after decades of empty promises and budget gimmicks, conservatives finally took a real step toward draining the swamp of wasteful spending.

Let’s be clear: this is the first time in more than 35 years that Congress has passed a rescission bill of this magnitude. As Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) put it, “What we are talking about is one-tenth of one percent of all federal spending … but it’s a step in the right direction.” He’s right. It’s not about the size of the cut—it’s about the principle. For too long, Washington has operated under the assumption that once money is authorized, it must be spent. That’s nonsense. This bill sends a message: not on our watch.

Roughly $8 billion will be yanked back from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a bloated bureaucracy that’s been funneling your tax dollars overseas to fund pet projects for global NGOs, many of which have zero accountability and even less to do with serving American interests. Another $1 billion comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which bankrolls NPR and PBS—two entities that have long since abandoned any pretense of neutrality and now serve as mouthpieces for the progressive left.

For years, conservatives have called for defunding NPR and PBS. Why? Because Americans shouldn’t be forced to subsidize media outlets that openly despise half the country. NPR’s recent scandals—from biased coverage to the admission by one of their own editors that the newsroom is driven by ideological conformity—prove the point. And PBS isn’t much better, routinely pushing leftist narratives under the guise of “educational programming.” If these outlets are as valuable as their defenders claim, let them survive in the free market like everyone else.

Predictably, the usual suspects opposed the bill. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Susan Collins (R-ME)—the GOP’s perennial stumbling blocks—joined every Democrat in voting against it. Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, claimed that the Office of Management and Budget didn’t provide enough detail. That’s rich coming from someone who’s spent decades rubber-stamping bloated omnibus bills with thousands of pages no one reads.

Even more revealing is who *didn’t* act when they had the chance. Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and Joe Biden never even attempted a rescission package. President Trump tried back in 2018, but establishment Republicans like Collins and former Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) killed it. This time, with a Republican majority in both chambers and Trump back in the White House, the will of the conservative grassroots is finally being translated into action.

Let’s also give credit where it’s due. The Trump administration showed strategic flexibility by agreeing to preserve funding for essential programs like PEPFAR, which fights AIDS globally, and ensuring that maternal health and food aid weren’t touched. This wasn’t a hatchet job—it was a scalpel. And that’s how you govern: with principle and precision.

Of course, Democrats are throwing a fit. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) whined that Republicans were “reneging on a bipartisan agreement” and threatened to weaponize the upcoming government funding fight in September. Translation: how dare Republicans use the tools available to them to reverse years of reckless spending! Sorry, Chuck, but your bipartisan gravy train just hit a stop sign.

The House now has until Friday to pass the bill and send it to President Trump’s desk. Assuming they do, this marks a turning point—a signal that the era of unchecked globalism and taxpayer-funded leftist media is finally coming to an end.

Real fiscal conservatism isn’t dead. It’s alive, it’s awake, and it’s back in charge.