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The Senate could vote as soon as Wednesday on a so-called rescissions package, recommended by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The proposed $9.5 billion in cuts would cancel funds lawmakers and President Donald Trump approved just a few months ago. In a preliminary vote Tuesday night, Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote in a 50-50 matchup in the Senate.Three Republican senators—Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, Maine's Susan Collins, and Alaska's Lisa Murkowski—joined all Democrats in voting no, voicing concerns about the impact of the programs being cut. A majority of Republicans, however, insist they are supporting Trump's request to reduce government spending."When you've got a $36 trillion debt, we have to do something to get spending under control," Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, said. "Couple that with policies like what we had in the One Big Beautiful Bill that create growth."Democrats countered."Republicans claim we don't have funding for these critical programs, whether it's cutting local news or cutting these foreign policy issues," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-New York, said. "We say 'bull.' What about the tax cuts to the wealthy?"Senators voting no say the more than $1 billion in cuts to public media will sever critical lines of communication for people, especially in rural areas. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes money to over 1,500 public TV and radio stations like NPR and PBS, would lose funding. But, the White House and President Trump argue that the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds reportedly worked out a deal to keep funding for radio stations on tribal lands, including those in his state, and voted for the rescissions package during Tuesday's vote.The Senate also chose to keep a Bush-era program combating HIV and AIDS in developing countries to gain more support for the package. However, more than $8.3 billion in funding could be stripped from what's known as "soft power" diplomacy programs, ending U.S. supplies of food, water, and healthcare to low-income countries, which help save lives from famine, disease and promote global stability.The deadline to pass the rescissions package is Friday. If the Senate passes the bill, it will need to clear the House again for any changes. Rescissions packages avoid the 60-vote Senate filibuster rule, meaning it only needs 50 votes to pass.Watch the latest coverage on government funding cuts: