It was this simple for Republicans: Prove that you were willing to finally put the excision of Democrat-beloved foreign aid plans that the Department of Government Efficiency uncovered into law by putting them into the spending package.
According to Politico, the move was made by Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, who wanted “to force the Senate to vote on codifying President Donald Trump’s cuts to foreign aid, a potential hitch for Republican leaders working to pass a bill to prevent a government shutdown Friday night.”
Now, there was no government shutdown on Friday night or any “hitch” in the negotiations. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had agreed that trying to stop any sort of GOP-led continuing resolution was futile and that at least some of his caucus should support the plan; 10 out of 47 of the Democrats or Democrat-caucusing senators did, according to Politico, which deemed the capitulation a loss for the left.
What’s curious, however, is the number of Republicans who put themselves on record as being against DOGE’s axe to foreign aid, which has revealed itself, at least at lefty-beloved USAID, to take the form of DEI training in Serbia and Peruvian transgender-friendly comic-book tracts than, say, fighting malaria in sub-Saharan Africa or anything useful.
Now, Paul is a notable spending humbug, and his plan would have definitely scuttled any deal with the Democrats, but remember the vote: Only a handful of Republicans needed to vote against the amendment to sink it, although Paul said he expected plenty more to oppose it.
The plan, Politico said, “would cut foreign aid grant funding by 83 percent, which would enact the reductions Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the president’s Department of Government Efficiency are already making. The Kentucky Republican predicts that about half of Republican senators would oppose the amendment, putting them on record against the Trump administration’s work.”
He was surprisingly accurate on how many Republicans wanted to keep spending on foreign aid at near Biden administration levels.
The GOP senators who voted with him, who he charitably put out in an X post instead of naming and shaming:
Just tried to put President’s Doge foreign aid cuts into law.
27 Republicans voted to cut foreign aid but 26 Republicans and all Democrats voted to keep funding foreign aid at Biden levels.
What a disappointment!
Those who voted with me:
YEAs —27
Banks (R-IN)
Blackburn…— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 14, 2025
Others were, ahem, less inclined to charity:
The Nays are far more important to list and here they are:
Republicans who voted against Rand Paul:
Barrasso (R-WY)
Boozman (R-AR)
Capito (R-WV)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Collins (R-ME)
Cramer (R-ND)
Crapo (R-ID)
Fischer (R-NE)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Hyde-Smith…— Patrick Webb (@RealPatrickWebb) March 15, 2025
Just so we’re clear, here are the Republicans who voted against taking an axe to foreign aid:
Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Boozman of Arkansas, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Mike Crapo of Idaho, Deb Fischer of Nebraska, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Charles Grassley of Iowa, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Pete Ricketts of Nebraska, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, John Thune of South Dakota, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and Todd Young of Indiana.
Now, some of these names are as surprising as the sunrise choosing the east to grace us from each new morrow. Quite frankly, if Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski had voted for a spending measure that would have made sense and put the Democrats into a tough place, I would have asked for the same sort of cognitive tests that should have been performed on Joe Biden before his ascension to the presidency to be performed on them, lest they cast another important vote whilst not being in compos mentis.
And of course Mitch McConnell voted for this; the dogma of go-along-to-get-along still lives loudly within him, even without a leadership position. Furthermore, Bill Cassidy seems determined to drag his feet on everything tangentially involved with Trump that’s slightly more controversial than, say, removing seed oils from the meals served on Air Force One to prove … something? Also, we’re well beyond Lindsey Graham v. 2.0 at this point; there are new version releases every few months, and you have to see whether the move from Lindsey Graham v. 8.3 to 8.4 means that the software views MAGA as a bug or a feature this time around.
Some of the names, however, are positively mind-boggling. Both of Oklahoma’s senators, a state where where every county went red in 2024? Both Mississippi senators? Tim Scott? John Thune, the leader of the GOP caucus?
Do you feel betrayed by these 26 GOP senators?
These are people who, knowing that the Democrats and the RINOs will likely humbug the budget humbug anyway, should be on board with supporting the president. And if this did throw a wrench into the process? Let the wrench stay in the machinery! This was the #SchumerShutdown to begin with, because he decided he wanted to hold the debt limit hostage with President Donald Trump’s administration coming in. Foreign aid of the type getting slashed by DOGE is wildly unpopular anyway. Do the freaking math for once, Republicans, and don’t vote scared.
That being said, I understand that’s probably too much to ask for — but is it too much to ask for more than half the GOP caucus to grow a spine for once?
“My vote will be an example of how many people support DOGE,” Paul said last Wednesday.
“No Democrats, obviously. But on the Republican side, how many people actually would cut any money from foreign aid? I think you’ll be surprised, or maybe you won’t.”
I wish I were surprised — but sadly, I’m not.
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