President Trump is putting his thumb on the scale in a months-long debate between the House and Senate as to how to best implement his top legislative priorities, like securing the southern U.S. border and extending the tax cuts passed in his first administration.
Senate GOP leaders have pushed for a two-bill approach, first addressing funding for the military and the border along with some changes to federal energy policy, and then revisiting tax cuts later this year in a separate bill. They say it's the most expeditious path to get dollars to the agencies that need them.
House GOP leaders say the best chance of getting legislation passed with their razor-thin majority — with various factions demanding different concessions — is to tackle Trump's agenda in one large bill covering border funding and taxes together.
On Wednesday, Trump posted on social media that the House resolution "implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!"
"We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to 'kickstart' the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, "ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL," he added.
Trump's statement goes further than his prior remarks, where he indicated support for the House's approach but said he cared less about the process as long as the results got done.
As both chambers move ahead with different strategies, Trump is likely to be pulled into the process again to press lawmakers to back GOP leaders' plans. But if the party remains unified, the budget process could hand Trump major wins for his biggest campaign promises on the border and taxes.
Senate begins debate this week
The Senate on Tuesday evening agreed to a motion to proceed on Senate Budget Chairman Lindsey's budget resolution by a 50-47 vote along party lines.
That resolution would authorize over $300 billion in new funding to address border security, military spending, and changes to federal energy policy. The new spending would be offset by cuts to mandatory spending, which weren't specified.
The Senate process this week, which proceeds while the House is in recess, includes floor debate on the resolution, which is limited to 50 hours and is succeeded by what's known as a "vote-a-rama," where senators bring amendments that last until lawmakers essentially run out of steam.
The vote-a-rama can be long-drawn-out and is often used to force lawmakers from both parties to go on the record about something — even unrelated to the core of the bill at hand — that can then be used for political purposes down the road.
Both Republican and Democratic senators are expected to offer amendments aimed at forcing challenging votes on senators who face tough reelection bids next year. It offers Democrats a way to advance their message while they have very limited concrete power as the party in the minority.
House aims for "one big beautiful bill"
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise scheduled a vote for next week on the budget resolution, after the House Budget Committee adopted it along party lines last week.
In order to appease some conservative holdouts and get the resolution over the finish line, House GOP leaders made adjustments that would direct up to $2 trillion in spending cuts — though committees would have to work out the details. That puts some programs like Medicaid on the potential chopping block, which has already raised concerns from some Republican members.
The House bill also calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade. These include renewing Trump tax cuts enacted in 2017 and then adding other provisions Trump campaigned on, like no tax on tips, overtime or Social Security.
Some Senate Republicans want to make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent.
While Republicans in the House and Senate disagree on the strategy of one bill versus two bills to implement Trump's agenda, they are united in using budget reconciliation to pass the legislation with only Republican support.
Reconciliation is a budget tool that enables some legislation to pass with just a simple majority and avoid the threat of a filibuster, which requires 60 senators to overcome. It's the same budget process that enabled congressional Democrats to pass parts of former President Joe Biden's agenda.
But the budget resolution must ultimately be adopted by both chambers. So as the Senate advances down its own path, a showdown with the House is looming.
Once both chambers adopt the resolution, congressional committees start writing bills to achieve the budget goals laid out in the resolution. Then, the budget committee assembles those bills together into one large bill that can't be filibustered.
Negotiations on the budget reconciliation package are expected to be more challenging in the coming months, as committees craft detailed provisions impacting government programs and tax policy. And leaders are racing to complete action to get a package that both the House and Senate can pass before the end of the year, when Trump's 2017 tax cuts expire.
Copyright 2025 NPR
