Senate GOP Advances $340 Billion Budget, Sidelines Trump’s $4.5 Trillion Tax Cuts

Early Friday morning, the Senate passed the Republican Budget Bill, which promoted the immigration, energy, and defense policies of President Donald Trump, despite Trump’s preference for the House of Representatives’ version of the bill, which included trillions of dollars in tax cuts.

The Senate’s narrower solution represents the Republican’s biggest legislative win since Trump took office. It directs Congress to spend more on defense and Trump’s immigration, border security, and energy policies.

The final voting was 52 to 48. Except for Senator Rand Paul, who had introduced an unsuccessful amendment to force cuts in spending.

Trump has come out in favor of the House Republicans plan to pass one comprehensive bill, which includes a $4.5 trillion extension in tax cuts. The House Republicans have a narrow 218-215 majority. It will be difficult to pass the bill.

The Senate’s bill, which leaves the issue of Trump’s desired extension of his 2017 tax cuts to a later date, will serve as a backup in case House Republicans cannot agree on how to pay for the tax cuts in their bill without slashing funding for popular safety net programs like Medicaid and Social Security or adding significantly to the country’s $36 trillion debt.

“I hope we can get this big, beautiful bill through the House. But we need to act immediately on border security and national security. Lindsey Graham said the time was running short after the Senate Budget Committee debate ended at 4:30 am (0930 GMT).

Trump stated that he would not touch safety net programs but was in favor of tax cuts. The Republican Congress is struggling to reconcile this conflicting desire with the budget.

The Senate budget resolution of $340 billion for fiscal 2025 will increase spending by $85 billion annually over four years. The money will be used to fund border security, Trump’s deportation of illegal immigrants, energy regulation, and increased military expenditure.

The House Budget Resolution contains the same priorities and $4.5 trillion in tax cuts. The budget also aims to cover the costs with $2 trillion in spending cuts and an economic recovery based on tax and energy policy changes.

Both chambers of Congress must pass the same budget resolution to unlock the parliamentary tool that will allow Republicans to implement Trump’s legislative program while avoiding Democrat resistance and Senate filibuster.

The Republican House leadership hopes to present its budget plan next Monday.

The Republicans accepted two amendments. These were said to reduce federal spending, and excessive regulations, and protect Medicaid and Medicare.

“I am aware that my Democratic colleagues tonight will use scare tactics to send the message that Republicans don’t support these vital programs. “But we do,” Republican Senator Dan Sullivan said when he introduced his amendment.

Democrat senator Ron Wyden spoke out against Sullivan’s Amendment. He said that it “would do nothing to prevent Republicans from cutting these essential healthcare programs”.

Senate Democrats, who were in a minority and had no way to stop the budget plan from being adopted, fought it in an all-night session called “vote-arama”, filing amendments that failed and making speeches in the Senate accusing Republicans of selling out American families to give tax incentives to wealthy people.

Among the dozens of Democrat amendments that were proposed and rejected, some sought to prohibit tax cuts for those earning over $1 billion per annum, prevent reductions in funding and staffing necessary to combat bird flu and protect seniors’ healthcare benefits from possible Medicaid cuts.