Senate Republicans are poised to adopt their budget resolution in the early hours of Friday morning. This move is designed to demonstrate support for a “Plan B” should House GOP lawmakers fail to unite around their more expansive vision necessary for enacting President Donald Trump's legislative agenda.
Senators engaged in voting on more than 10 amendments to their budget resolution before midnight, with plans to extend their “vote-a-rama” into the night. Democrats are leveraging this marathon amendment process to gain political traction, with hopes of reaping benefits by 2026.
“Families lose, billionaires win. That is the proposition at the heart of the Republican budget resolution,” stated the Senate Budget Committee’s top Democrat, Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, on the floor. “We will witness tonight that Democrats vote against irreparable increases in the deficit, while Republicans vote to explode the deficit.”
Democrats have utilized the amendment process to repeatedly compel their GOP colleagues to publicly oppose protecting Medicare and Medicaid. They have also proposed amendments to prevent hedge funds from purchasing single-family homes, support wildland firefighters, and rehire federal workers dismissed in the initial weeks of the Trump administration.
Senate Democrats will have further opportunities to refine their critiques of Republicans’ ambitions later, as GOP leaders in the chamber craft the actual reconciliation bill to deliver on Trump’s primary policy priorities. The budget resolution, a concise 62-page document, only outlines the framework for the final product, allowing for $150 billion in new defense spending, up to $175 billion in new border security spending, and necessitating billions in savings from education, labor, energy, and agriculture programs.
“One can predict their trajectory based on the numbers they're presenting. It certainly appears to be significant Medicaid cuts,” remarked Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) in a brief interview.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed an amendment to prevent Republicans from enacting tax cuts if the GOP even slightly reduces Medicaid funding. In a counter move, Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) introduced his amendment to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund concerning the protection of Medicare and Medicaid. However, a Senate Democratic leadership aide quickly responded, in a memo to reporters, that the proposal would effectively increase the age of Medicare eligibility and “carve out populations Republicans deem worthy and cut benefits for everyone else.”
Democrats also described the Senate Republican budget as a scheme to finance tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans. Even their GOP counterparts were inclined to discuss taxes. Nevertheless, the plan does not establish tax cuts, with Senate Republicans asserting that tax policy should be addressed later in the year in separate legislation.
“While we aren’t considering tax policy as part of this reconciliation package, it’s important to set the record straight regarding what’s at stake in the upcoming tax debate,” stated Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).
Democrats did succeed, to some extent, in persuading Republicans to engage with their proposals. For instance, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) supported Democrats' efforts to allow floor votes on amendments aimed at preventing tax cuts for the wealthy in the final bill. Collins is a crucial target for Democrats in 2026, when she faces reelection.
While the budget measure GOP senators are working to adopt would set the stage for a party-line package focused on energy policy, defense spending, and border security investment, Trump is adamant about a more comprehensive piece of legislation that includes trillions of dollars in tax cuts. The House budget would consolidate all those priorities into what the president has termed “one big, beautiful bill.”
Now, the pressure mounts on House GOP leaders to demonstrate their ability to rally enough support for this grander plan, which would necessitate balancing the demands of fiscal conservatives with those of moderate Republicans unwilling to endorse deep cuts to safety net programs like Medicaid and SNAP food assistance.
Ultimately, Senate Republicans are preparing for the possibility of revisiting this issue in the near future if House Republicans can advance their own budget resolution next week to achieve the more expansive bill Trump has explicitly endorsed.
Amidst these political maneuvers, Republicans enjoyed a brief respite Thursday night, watching the intense USA vs. Canada hockey game on a television inside the GOP cloakroom.
