Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he is still negotiating potential changes to the White House’s funding clawback request hours before he wants to take an initial floor vote.
Asked if he had reached a deal to amend the $9.4 billion rescissions package and secure enough votes to pass it, Thune said in a brief interview that “we’re working on something, but I don’t think it’s quite ready yet.”
Thune will need 51 votes to take up the White House effort to claw back public media and global health funding. Several GOP senators huddled Monday night to discuss potential changes or clarifications they want, and White House budget director Russ Vought is coming to the Capitol on Tuesday to talk with GOP senators.
Thune separately told reporters Tuesday that while he supports the package as is, “we have colleagues who would like to see some perhaps modest changes made, so we’re trying to find out if there’s a path forward that gets us 51” and would still be consistent with the White House’s proposal.
