House Speaker Mike Johnson is proving to be a maestro in securing just enough Republican votes to pass crucial bills.

He did it again yesterday, when President Trump’s first rescissions package passed the House 214 to 212. Four Republicans – Mark Amodei (NV), Brian Fitzpatrick (PA), Nicole Malliotakis (NY), and Michael Turner (OH) – joined all Democrats in voting no.

It now heads to the Senate, where Appropriations Chair Susan Collins has indicated she will oppose the bill.

The bill is a $9.4B spending reduction package that cancels funding for NPR, PBS, and various foreign aid programs identified as wasteful by the DOGE process. This is small potatoes in the federal budget picture, but it’s a critical first step to prove Congress can pass real spending cuts. If it succeeds it could be the first of many such bills.