Rare Cuts

Congress has approved approximately $9 billion in spending recissions requested by the Trump administration. The cuts reclaim funding previously approved by Congress and include approximately $8 billion of foreign aid previously earmarked for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and about $1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which has funded National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The recissions are among those recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and it is likely additional recission packages will be considered later in the year.

Analysis and eternal perspective: It is rare indeed for the federal government to approve spending cuts. While recommended cuts are often announced, they are very rarely enacted (to say nothing of the fact that most proposed cuts are really just reductions in the rate of anticipated spending increases). So it is significant news when Congress and the administration agree on spending cuts, even if $9 billion is but a drop in the bucket compared to the $6.75 trillion the federal government spent in fiscal year 2024.

There is significant division in Washington, DC about the merits of foreign aid and publicly funded broadcasting, and there will be continued significant disagreement about the funding priorities debated in the days ahead. The enactment of the recissions package, however, is a reminder that Congress possesses the constitutional authority to approve spending (see Article I, Section 9, Clause 7 of the U.S. Constitution) while the President has the duty to “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” (see Article II, Section 3, Clause 6 of the U.S. Constitution). This shared authority and cooperation is a safeguard against overspending, but it does require those in possession of it to use it.

On a personal level, this story should remind you and me of the importance of stewarding all things—big and small—entrusted to us (Lk. 16:10). The only real way to ensure our heart is inclined toward the eternal is to put our treasure into things that will last forever (Matt. 6:21).

The following article originally appeared in Thann’s “The Equipped” Weekly Newsletter. For more information on Thann’s weekly email, click here.