Senate Republicans to spare global AIDS program from DOGE cuts

A bill striking billions in foreign aid will get slightly smaller after Republicans agreed to exempt $400 million in funding for AIDS prevention, a major concession to centrists wavering on the White House request.

Exiting a Senate GOP lunch, White House budget chief Russ Vought told reporters Tuesday that PEPFAR, a Bush-era HIV program, would be spared from $9.4 billion in DOGE-inspired cuts under consideration in the Senate.