Senate Republicans agreed to make changes to President Donald Trump’s multi-billion-dollar clawback package to help win over holdouts, but by shrinking the overall size of the cuts in the process.

Lawmakers left a meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought on Tuesday afternoon and announced that about $400 million in proposed cuts to a global AIDS and HIV prevention program would be stripped from the legislation, dropping the total clawbacks in the president’s rescission package to $9 billion.

The original proposed slashes to the Bush-era President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) rattled some Senate Republicans, who warned publicly and privately that they would not support the package if the cuts remained.

But lawmakers agreed to carve out the spending cuts with an amendment, and Senate leadership is hopeful that the change will corral enough holdouts to support the bill during a test vote later Tuesday.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., can only afford to lose three Republicans during the partisan process.

Thune said after the meeting that there was ‘a lot of interest among our members’ in seeing the PEPFAR cuts removed, and expressed hope that if lawmakers in the upper chamber could advance the bill, then House Republicans would be open to the modification.

The top Senate Republican is eyeing the first test vote on the bill later on Tuesday evening, with another vote to kick off 10 hours of debate shortly after.

The changes to PEPFAR also come after Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., got guarantees that roughly $10 million would go toward rural radio stations on reservations, which was his primary concern, with cuts now redirected toward the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the government-backed funding arm for NPR and PBS.

However, whether the changes are enough to sway key holdouts, like Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, remains to be seen.

A senior administration official pushed back against the narrative surrounding the proposed PEPFAR cuts, and told Fox News Digital that the clawbacks were geared toward limited program cuts targeted at ‘LGBTQ education and capacity building — not core life-saving care.’

‘We’re already working with countries and other partners to ensure that they shoulder a greater share of the burden where they can,’ the official said. ‘We continue to make targeted investments in mother-to-child prevention, and other key areas of focus.’

Sen. Eric Schmitt, who has acted as a bridge between the White House and Senate on the rescission package, said that the administration supported the change, but was still unsure if there were enough votes to get the package across the line.  

‘I’m not in the prediction business, but we’re hopeful we’ll move forward here,’ the Missouri Republican said.

Vought argued that it was still ‘substantially the same package,’ and noted that the Senate had to work its will on the bill.

Lawmakers have until Friday before the stroke of midnight to get the bill on the president’s desk, or else the holds that the White House has on the billions in funding will end.

‘This is multi-year funding, it has to flow,’ Vought said. ‘If we’re outside of the 45-day window, we have to remove our hold on the money. So we will not implement the cuts if this is if this vote doesn’t go our way.’

A top Senate Democrat is accusing the Trump administration of diverting ‘critical resources’ away from fighting crimes such as organized retail theft so the president can carry out a ‘mass deportation agenda.’ 

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who is the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the remark during a hearing on Tuesday in which he warned lawmakers about the ‘large scale theft of retail products that are then sold to unsuspecting consumers, often on online marketplaces.’ 

‘Federal law enforcement also has an important role to play, but we must acknowledge this administration has announced different priorities. Instead of combating crimes like I described, the Trump administration has diverted critical resources toward the president’s mass deportation agenda,’ Durbin said. 

‘Homeland Security Investigations, better known as HSI, plays a leading role in combating criminal networks and organized crime, including organized retail theft. But under this administration, HSI has been diverted toward rounding up immigrants, many of whom pose no threat whatsoever to this country,’ Durbin added. 

Durbin cited a recent report saying ‘HSI supervisors have waived agents off new cases so they have more time to make immigration enforcement arrests.’ 

‘One veteran agent said ‘no drug cases, no human trafficking, no child exploitation.’ It’s infuriating. Instead, he said, HSI is ‘arresting gardeners.’ These are not the actions of an administration serious about combating crime,’ Durbin concluded. ‘Diverting federal resources endangers Americans and leaves us less equipped to target and disrupt criminals like those in organized retail theft.’ 

The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment from Fox News Digital. 

During the Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, titled ‘Beyond the Smash and Grab: Criminal Networks and Organized Theft,’ chairman and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said he has seen a ‘continued rise in organized retail and supply chain crime and the criminal networks that are involved in that criminal activity. 

‘We’ve all seen videos of mobs ransacking stores of thousands of dollars of goods and doing it in a very short period of time,’ Grassley said. 

‘The reality is, some of the worst criminal organizations —  including cartels, terrorists and human traffickers — use this type of crime, funding their misdeeds or launder[ing] ill-gotten proceeds,’ Grassley added, noting that ‘Homeland Security investigators estimate that the average American family will pay more than $500 annually in additional costs, due to the impact of organized retail crime.’ 

Donna Lemm, the chief strategy officer at IMC Logistics, told lawmakers on Capitol Hill Tuesday that ‘Cargo theft is robbing our supply chain to the tune of $35 billion per year.’ 

‘A few years ago, cargo theft was barely on my company’s radar. In 2021, we had five cargo thefts reported. In 2024, we had 876 cargo thefts reported. That’s a 17,520% increase,’ Lemm said. 

‘Our partner railroads share with us drone footage of thieves cutting air brakes, containers strewn across the desert, and criminals emptying these containers in minutes,’ she added. 

Israel is calling out international organizations and the United Nations for allegedly leaving pallets of aid uncollected while decrying the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

‘Right now, there are thousands of pallets of humanitarian aid already inside Gaza, waiting to be picked up and distributed from the crossings by U.N. agencies and international organizations. Instead of publishing statements about ‘Gaza needing more aid’ or ‘trucks waiting to enter,’ aid can be collected and distributed to the civilian population,’ the Coordination of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), an Israeli government agency, wrote on X.

In response to a Fox News Digital request for comment on COGAT’s statement, U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Spokesperson Eri Kaneko said the ‘restrictive operational environment’ in Gaza has been making it more difficult to deliver humanitarian services. 

‘Throughout this war, we have been clear that without meaningful safety, security or unimpeded access, large-scale humanitarian operations are impossible,’ Kaneko told Fox News Digital. ‘Planned UN missions to deliver aid and services continue to face significant access challenges, with many either denied outright or obstructed due to unpredictable and lengthy coordination procedures.’

Meanwhile, the GHF joined Israel in its criticisms of the U.N.’s handling of aid to Gaza.

‘No one is limiting the U.N.’s ability to deliver aid—certainly not GHF. In fact, GHF successfully pushed for the U.N.’s reauthorization to operate after Israel reopened access to Gaza,’ a GHF spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘The real problem is not access. It’s execution. The U.N. currently has thousands of pallets of aid inside Gaza awaiting distribution because their trucks are consistently looted, hijacked, or overrun by Hamas, armed gangs, or desperate civilians. This is why over 400 U.N. distribution sites sit empty.’

COGAT’s Tuesday statement comes shortly after U.N. Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher pushed a statement co-signed by his office declaring that ‘the fuel shortage in Gaza has reached critical levels.’

‘For the first time in 130 days, a small amount of fuel entered Gaza this week. This is a welcome development, but it is a small fraction of what is needed each day to keep daily life and critical aid operations running,’ the statement signed by several U.N. agencies read.

In response, COGAT slammed Fletcher, saying that he was either unaware of the work his staff has done on the ground or was ‘spreading lies.’

‘Fuel has been entering Gaza for over a week now for essential humanitarian needs, with your coordination. So, either get updated or stop spreading lies,’ COGAT wrote.

The U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) has faced harsh criticism from the international community, even as the organization has surpassed 76 million meals distributed in the Strip. 

‘Each delivery reflects the bravery and dedication of our aid workers, who are operating in some of the world’s toughest humanitarian conditions,’ GHF Interim Executive Director John Acree said in a statement on X.

COGAT did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment in time for publication.

President Donald Trump launched a blistering attack on Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Tuesday morning, amplifying 2024 claims that Schiff committed mortgage fraud by lying about his primary residence for over a decade, which the senator denies.

Trump, in a Truth Social post, labeled Schiff a ‘scam artist’ and claimed he obtained a mortgage for a residence in Maryland in 2009 but only designated it as a second home in 2020 as part of a ruse to snag better rates and terms from the company, which has been in federal conservatorship since the 2008 financial crisis.

The president said Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division had uncovered the alleged fraud. Schiff obtained the Maryland property in 2009 while he was a congressman and became a senator in January. Schiff called the accusations ‘baseless.’

‘I have always suspected Shifty Adam Schiff was a scam artist. And now I learn that Fannie Mae’s Financial Crimes Division have concluded that Adam Schiff has engaged in a sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud,’ Trump wrote.

‘Adam Schiff said that his primary residence was in MARYLAND to get a cheaper mortgage and rip off America, when he must LIVE in CALIFORNIA because he was a Congressman from CALIFORNIA. I always knew Adam Schiff was a Crook. The FRAUD began with the refinance of his Maryland property on February 6, 2009, and continued through multiple transactions until the Maryland property was correctly designated as a second home on October 13, 2020.’

‘Mortgage Fraud is very serious, and CROOKED Adam Schiff (now a Senator) needs to be brought to justice.’

Trump did not provide any evidence of the alleged fraud. 

When asked about the accusations later on Tuesday, Trump appeared to soften on the specific accusation. 

‘I don’t know about the individual charge, if that even happened, but Adam Schiff is a serious lowlife,’ Trump said.

‘When you said that you want Adam Schiff brought to justice, what does that mean?’ Fox News’ Peter Doocy asked, to which Trump said: ‘I’d love to see him brought to justice.’

Schiff was not barred from listing the Maryland home as his primary residence during his term in Congress, since the Constitution only requires that he be an ‘inhabitant’ of California at the time of his election, not throughout his entire service.

However, Schiff cited two residences, one in California and one in Maryland, as his ‘principal residence’ on multiple mortgage and election forms dating back to 2003, Just the News reported in October. 

In at least three cases — in 2009, 2011 and 2013 — Schiff refinanced his Maryland home and declared it his ‘principal residence,’ while also listing his Burbank, California condo as his primary residence in separate financing documents, the outlet reported. He then changed the notations on his Maryland mortgage to be a secondary residence.

The pattern was first detected by Christine Bish, a Sacramento-based real estate investigator who ran for Congress as a Republican last year. She filed an ethics complaint against Schiff in Congress.

Schiff said Trump’s comments were the latest attempt at political retaliation against his perceived enemies and said it would not distract from ‘his Epstein files problem.’

‘Since I led his first impeachment, Trump has repeatedly called for me to be arrested for treason,’ Schiff wrote on X. ‘So in a way, I guess this is a bit of a letdown. And this baseless attempt at political retribution won’t stop me from holding him accountable. Not by a long shot.’

A spokesperson for Schiff said that the accusations have been debunked.

‘The lenders who provided the mortgages for both homes were well aware of then-Representative Schiff’s Congressional service and of his intended year-round use of both homes, neither of which were vacation homes,’ the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. ‘He has always been completely transparent about this.’

The spokesperson did not say whether the Maryland home was designated as a primary residence. Fannie Mae said it would not be commenting on the claims. 

Trump and Schiff have clashed many times since Trump first became president. 

As ranking member and later chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Schiff became the public face of the congressional probe into the now-debunked theory that Trump colluded with Russia to win the 2016 election. Schiff repeatedly suggested there was ‘ample evidence’ of collusion, even when the Mueller report later stated it did not establish a criminal conspiracy. Trump and his Republican allies repeatedly accused Schiff of leaking classified information during the investigation.

Schiff also served as the lead House impeachment manager during Trump’s first impeachment trial, stemming from the president’s phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy while Schiff was also a member of the House Select Committee on Jan. 6, which investigated Trump’s role in the attack on the Capitol. Schiff voted to impeach Trump both times. 

A bipartisan duo bent on imposing strict sanctions against Russia are giving President Donald Trump some runway after his latest, hardened stance against Moscow.

Senators Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., have pressed for stringent sanctions against Russia and its energy trade partners, and they have been working to refine their bill to meet requirements from the White House that give Trump more flexibility.

The bill had been sidelined by congressional Republicans’ push to pass the president’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ and had been eyed for a vote possibly by the end of the month.

But Trump’s announcement that he would levy 100% tariffs against Moscow unless Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to end the war with Ukraine has likely again stalled that plan, and the bipartisan pair isn’t mad about it.

‘It sounds like right now the president is going to attempt to do some of this on his own,’ Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told reporters. ‘If at some point the president concludes that it makes sense and adds value and leverage that he needs in those negotiations to move the bill, then we’ll do it. We’ll be ready to go.’

The president’s warning came after he agreed to sell weapons to NATO, which, in turn, would be sent to Ukraine to resupply their dwindling stocks.

‘We’re pleased that the president sort of buys into that way of doing business. We’ll continue to work with the White House to see if we can provide him a tool that Congress has been working on,’ Graham said.  

Their bill would slap up to 500% tariffs on countries buying energy products from Moscow in a bid to kneecap Russia’s war machine by imposing duties on oil, gas, uranium and other exports, largely purchased by China and India, which account for nearly three-quarters of Moscow’s energy business.

But that doesn’t mean that work on the bill has ceased. Graham noted that having Congress’ blessing ‘is good for the president’ and could help him legally and politically.

‘But between the weapons flowing and sanctions through tariffs on the table, I think we can say today was a game changer that we’ve been waiting on and hoping for, and on day 51 you want to know what happens,’ Graham said. ‘Call the Ayatollah.’

Blumenthal lauded Trump’s shift and gave him credit ‘for seeing through the mocking and flouting by Vladimir Putin.’ He argued that the bill, which has dozens of co-sponsors in the Senate and backing by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., had already made an impact and noted that Trump’s move was like a ‘hammer.’  

‘Our bill is a sledgehammer,’ Blumenthal said.