Senate Republicans voted early Saturday morning to pass a budget resolution that will be critical to advancing President Donald J. Trump’s legislative agenda, but the measure breaks with House Republicans on several big issues, setting the stage for a showdown between the two chambers later this year. The Senate voted 51-48 to pass the measure after a holding a long series of votes on amendments, which kept senators in the chamber for hours. Senators Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) were the only Republicans to vote against it. The resolution, which serves as a blueprint to a final measure, still needs to be adopted by the House before both chambers can begin a difficult negotiation on the bill to beef up border security, expand oil and gas drilling, increase defense spending and extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. Once both chambers agree to a joint budget resolution, it will unlock the reconciliation process that allows Senate Republicans to pass President Trump’s agenda with a simple-majority vote and avoid a Democratic filibuster.
House Republican leaders are now urging their members to adopt the Senate’s version of the budget resolution that will tee up the ambitious legislative agenda, arguing that major differences between the chambers’ instructions on spending reductions do not prevent fiscal hawks from achieving their goals of historic cuts. In a “Dear Colleague” letter sent to members on Saturday, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana), House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minnesota), and Conference Chair Lisa McClain (R-Michigan) are getting a head start on arguing in favor of the legislation as hardline conservative publicly balk at the Senate product.
For today, the Senate will convene at 3:00 P.M. and will take up a motion to invoke cloture on Executive Calendar #56 Elbridge Colby, of the District of Columbia, to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.
The House will meet at 2:00 P.M. for legislative business and is expected to take up H. Con. Res. 9 – Authorizing the use of the Capitol Grounds for the National Peace Officers Memorial Service and the National Honor Guard and Pipe Band Exhibition as well as eight bills under suspension of the Rules from the Veterans Affairs Committee.
