US Republicans have approved President Donald Trump’s plan to cancel $9 billion in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, vowing it is just the start of broader efforts by Congress to slash the federal budget.

The cuts achieve only a tiny fraction of the $1 trillion in annual savings
that tech billionaire and estranged Trump donor Elon Musk vowed to find before his acrimonious exit in May from a role spearheading federal cost-cutting.

But Republicans, who recently passed a domestic policy bill expected to add more than $3 trillion to US debt, said the vote honoured Trump’s election campaign pledge to rein in spending.

“President Trump and House Republicans promised fiscal responsibility and government efficiency,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a statement just after the vote.