GOP Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday moved to push House Republicans aside and take the lead on President Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill package on border security, energy and defense.
While House Republicans were out of town on recess, Thune (R-SD) announced that later this week, the Senate will take up passage of Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) budget resolution needed to unlock the process of drafting Trump’s marquee agenda package for themselves.
“It’s time to act on the decisive mandate the American people gave to President Trump in November,” Thune wrote on X. “Securing the border, rebuilding our defense, and unleashing American energy. That starts this week with passing Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC’s budget.”
Graham’s budget resolution for Trump’s agenda advanced through committee last week and features an increase of $175 billion for the US border crisis and $150 billion in bolstered defense spending over the next decade.
The Senate plan effectively splits Trump’s agenda package into two tranches — the first dealing with border, energy and defense reforms and a second focusing on tax reform.
House GOP leadership has already rejected that proposal.
While Republicans in both chambers are largely in agreement about the first batch of bills, it’s the tax component that has proven to be deeply divisive, especially among House GOPers, who have a threadbare and rambunctious majority.
Repubilocan leaders in the House feel that if Trump’s “big, beautiful” agenda is split for a vote, they will lose significant leverage with their own party hardliners on controlling the tax-reform component.
Last week, the House Budget Committee advanced a single budget resolution amid mounting pressure from Senate Republicans.
The framework, which is expected to come up for a vote on the House floor next week, calls for a total $300 billion in additional spending on the border and defense and makes room for tax cuts to increase the deficit by as much as $4.5 trillion over the next decade.
Additionally, it has a nonbinding call for $2 trillion worth of spending cuts and outlines committee assignments to produce $1.5 trillion worth of reductions.
Hardliners such as Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) praised the House blueprint when it advanced through committee last week.
But some Republicans in the Senate — still worried about potential hold-ups in the House — are almost universally in favor of a two-track approach so that they can get a quick legislative win and get much-needed resources to the US-Mexico border.
House Republicans have a history of dragging their feet on major legislative activities such as electing a speaker and passing budget bills.
House Republicans frequently have fundamental disagreements within their caucus over taxation and spending.
Fiscal hawks want to maximize spending cuts to offset the tax reductions, while blue-state Republicans are wary of their district getting hit too hard.
Blue state Republicans are also demanding an increase in the $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has previously said the lower chamber won’t take up the Senate’s budget resolution for consideration.
He added on X on Tuesday, after Thune’s announcement, “The House budget resolution implements President Trump’s FULL America First agenda, not just parts of it with promises to come back later for the rest.
“We remain laser-focused on sending our bill to President Trump’s desk to secure the border, keep taxes low, restore American energy dominance, strengthen America’s military, and make government work better for all Americans.”
Any resolution needs to clear both chambers before it heads to the president’s desk to be signed.
