The U.S. Senate on Tuesday considered a $9 billion rescissions package from the White House to "claw back" previously appropriated funds that the administration doesn't want to spend.

Vice President JD Vance was twice forced to break a tie on procedural votes after three Republican senators crossed the aisle to join their Democratic colleagues in voting against proceeding on the bill, according to the Daily Caller.

Those three GOP senators who sided with Democrats against President Donald Trump's proposed spending cuts were, unsurprisingly, Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and former Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY).

White House package of spending cuts

The New York Post reported that the White House's proposed rescissions package, which was passed by the House last month, initially totaled around $9.4 billion in funding cuts, primarily to various foreign aid programs, as well as taxpayer-supported public broadcasting.

There were some objections to a $400 million cut for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, including from Sen. Collins, but the White House agreed to strip that from the bill, reducing the total clawback to $9 billion, but Collins and her anti-Trump comrades apparently remained unsatisfied.

"There was a lot of interest from our members on doing something on PEPFAR," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said following a meeting with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought. "That’s reflected in the substitute."

He added, "We hope that if we can get this across the finish line in the Senate, that the House will accept that one small modification that ends up making the package about a $9 billion rescissions package."

Vance breaks the tie, Collins defends vote

On Tuesday evening, Vice President Vance had to cast a tie-breaking vote twice to advance the measure to the debate and amendment stages before a final vote scheduled for Wednesday, per the Post.

In a subsequent statement defending her "No" vote, Sen. Collins said, "The rescissions package has a big problem -- nobody really knows what program reductions are in it."

"That isn’t because we haven’t had time to review the bill. Instead, the problem is that OMB has never provided the details that would normally be part of this process," she added as a shot against President Trump's team.

Will the House approve the slimmed-down package?

According to Politico, Congress has until a Friday deadline to pass the $9 billion proposed rescissions package, or else the White House will be forced to spend that previously appropriated taxpayer money.

The Tuesday procedural votes set up a debate period and "vote-a-rama" amendment process for Wednesday, followed by a final vote, after which the altered package will be sent back to the House for their approval on Thursday, then on to President Trump for his signature by the Friday deadline.

However, Politico noted that there is some uncertainty about whether the House will rubber-stamp the "watered-down product" from the Senate, as some GOP members vowed to vote against anything that is "a penny less" than what they previously voted for.

"I think you got to respect the White House’s request, and that’s what we did, so I hope that’s what we get back," Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said on Monday to reporters. "There are two big categories of rescissions, and I’m not sure either of them should be subject to dispute."

That said, according to the Daily Caller, OMB Director Vought signaled to reporters the White House's support for the trimmed-down rescissions package, and said, "From a $9.4 billion package to a $9 billion package, that’s something that’s very exciting for the American taxpayer. Big chunks of this proposal are not falling out."