GOP Senators Approve Budget Framework to Propel Trump's Policy Agenda Amidst Capitol Hill Spending Dispute
Raw and Raucous: The Road to Trump's Agenda in Congress
Senate GOP bigwigs have taken a crucial stride towards shaping President Donnie T's towering, trillion-dollar ambitions on Capitol Hill - sparking an all-out, intra-party smackdown over the purse strings.
The Republican camp in D.C. is kicking into overdrive, intent on bestowing the Oval Office with a political asset on taxes and border security, amid an intensifying trade war storm. Yet, destiny ain't all rosy for Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who are wrestling with complex, party feuds that are already splitting the Righteous Reepolicans' hard-nosed fiscal fanatics and the party's old guard.
Just after the break of Saturday dawn, post a sleepless, all-nighter binge session, the Senate endorsed a shiny, new budget roadmap that grants top Republicans the green light to draft Donnie T's first significant legislative package. The only Republicans to cross swords with Dems in this vote were Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Susan Collins of Maine.
Throughout the marathon, six-hour "vote-a-rama," the shut-out Democrats - bereft of power in Washington and curbed in their ability to thwart the GOP's agenda – battered Republicans with votes to sheer 'em on a variety of political pain points. Dem Leader Chuck Schumer honed in on the growing unease and worry over Donnie T's economic policies, offering an amendment targeting the president's broad-strokes tariffs. "Donnie T's tariff tax is one of the dumbest things he ever did as president, and that's saying something!" he barked. Alas, the amendment fell short of the numbers needed for endorsement.
Among the Dems' proposed amendments were ones supporting Ukraine against Russian pressure and a tussle with Department of Government Efficiency changes at the Social Security Administration. The Dems maintained that the GOP was jostling for tax cuts for the rich 1% and argued the budget blueprint's proposed spending cuts would inflict deep, crushing blows to public benefit programs like Medicaid.
Notably, the inaugural GOP-proposed amendment of the longer-than-life voting session was floated by GOP Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska to demonstrate party backing for a program that delivers health services to over 72 million Americans. It was given a nod 51-48.
Although fruitless in the end, Dems occasionally managed to pry some GOP votes loose. In one instance, Collins and fellow GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski teamed up with all Dems to back an amendment underscoring the importance of FEMA and its continued role in providing impartial, long-term disaster relief to disaster survivors.
Both chambers must nudge eye-to-eye on this budget roadmap to unlock the next move toward drafting Donnie T's program, using unusual filibuster-proof powers known as budget reconciliation.
Now, Thune's plans – encompassing trillions in perpetual tax breaks and additional cash for national security, with just symbolic spending cuts – are set to face the tougher, more conservative House.
A gaggle of half-dozen House Reepolicans and senior aides confided to CNN on Friday that they remain uncertain whether the Senate's blueprint can withstand their chamber, where hardline conservatives are fighting for at least $1.5 trillion in cuts, in contrast to the Senate's target of $4 billion. Johnson has pledged to bring the Senate proposal to the House floor next week.
"I fear it'll diminish momentum, and you'll see folks over here, especially the fiscal hawks, they'll say, this is an unserious exercise. And I think you'll witness a mass exodus," House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, who guided the House GOP's own budget plan, snarled this week.
And Arrington hesitated to guarantee support for the Senate's budget blueprint: "There's a lot hanging on the success of the reconciliation bill, but it starts with a budget framework that’s responsible."
The size of the spending cuts carries significant weight to House conservatives because Donnie T aspires to harness the package to jack up the nation's borrowing limit. If GOP leaders fail to act on this bill, Donnie T will be compelled to team up with Dems to hoist the debt ceiling and potentially make some trade-offs to secure their backing.
The Senate's plan leaves the budget roadmap devoid of specifics – it's merely a procedural step that doesn't settle any significant policy questions, such as what the tax cuts will entail, which programs' financing will take a hit, or how the funds for the border will be allocated. Yet, these questions will need to be sorted this spring and summer. GOP leaders are determined to pass the full Donnie T package by August recess.
Donnie T has guaranteed members of the Senate Budget Committee that he'd support their resolution in the House. He proclaimed earlier this week that the plan was his "Complete and Total Endorsement."
"Likewise, the House is rolling along on the very same pathways. Every Reepolican, House and Senate, must UNIFY! We need to act IMMEDIATELY!" he thundered on his Truth Social platform.
The budget battle over spending cuts has been lurking in the wings since even before the election. In campaign speeches, Donnie T made it abundantly clear he wanted hefty tax breaks and substantial upticks for national security.
Yet, Donnie T also started his tenure in office with an empowered fiscal hawk wing in Congress, particularly in the House, who've been furious over years of pandemic-fueled spending hikes under the Biden administration.
Those ultraconservatives, including those in the House Freedom Caucus, have signaled they'd rather see Congress pass nothing than something that adds to the deficit.
South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, who sits on the House Budget Committee, recently labeled the House's proposed $1.5 trillion cuts "non-negotiable."
When asked whether he'd be willing to derail Donnie T's campaign over this issue, Norman didn't hesitate: "Me, I'd say, you do that, then I'm a no vote, and we'll face the consequences."
- The Senate's budget blueprint, approved after an all-night session, is now set to face a tough test in the ultraconservative House, where some Republicans are pushing for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, in contrast to the Senate's target of $4 billion.
- GOP Senators Dan Sullivan (Alaska) and John Thune (South Dakota) have agreed to present a budget blueprint that will serve as a starting point for crafting President Donnie T's legislation, amid internal party feuds over fiscal policies and tax reforms.
- With ultraconservatives in the House questioning the Senate's $4 billion spending cut target, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson may need to revise the budget blueprint to garner support from the ultraconservative faction during the budget reconciliation process.
