The Senate passed the Republican budget blueprint at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, allowing for the advancement of President Trump’s domestic agenda. This move was the result of an overnight session that Democrats used to protest the GOP’s push for significant spending and tax cuts. In a largely partisan 51-to-48 vote, this significant step forward in the Republican’s fast-tracking strategy came after weeks of intra-party disagreements about the content of the bill, but a fragile compromise has since been reached. Senators Rand Paul and Susan Collins were the only Republicans to oppose the measure.
The budget blueprint will now be sent to the House, which will need to adopt it before both chambers move forward with drafting legislation for specific tax and spending cuts. Senator John Thune, the majority leader, heralded this resolution as the first step towards making the 2017 tax relief permanent and investing in national, border, and energy security.
Before the Senate could pass the resolution, they had to navigate through a lengthy process known as a vote-a-rama, where numerous rapid votes on amendments were conducted. These amendments, while unlikely to become law, allowed Democrats to force votes on politically sensitive issues like President Trump’s tariffs and proposed cuts to Medicaid. Despite these challenges, Republicans largely resisted Democratic efforts to alter their budget plan.
The resolution does not resolve several significant issues. House Republicans previously passed a bill that included $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and a $2 trillion reduction in federal spending. The Senate plan, however, postponed decisions on tax and spending cuts and allowed for tax cuts amounting to roughly $5.3 trillion over a decade, a larger figure than the House’s $4.5 trillion. This Senate plan could add approximately $5.7 trillion to the debt over a decade, compared to the House’s plan for a $2.8 trillion increase. There is concern among some House Republicans about the Senate plan’s potential lack of fiscal restraint.
Source: New York Times
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/05/world/europe/senate-budget.html
