US Senate passes budget blueprint, without Trump support

One step closer to releasing the money the Trump administration seeks for border security and other goals, the US Senate enacted a budget blueprint early Friday that easily defeated Democratic resistance.

After an all-night “vote-a-rama” voting session on several changes proposed by Democrats, the trimmed-down framework—which does not include the tax cuts Trump wants to extend—was approved.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are under pressure to pass their own budget, which Trump refers to as “one big beautiful bill,” which includes tax cuts.

However, they may rely on the more constrained budget framework that was approved by the Senate on Friday if they are unable to come to an agreement in the near future.

Instead of requiring 60 votes, the resolution enacted overnight would enable the budget to pass the Senate with a simple majority. Despite having just 53 votes, Republicans dominate the chamber.

Before becoming law, any budget would still need to clear the House, where Republicans also hold a slim majority.

To assist Trump win early electoral triumphs on topics like migration, which has long been at the top of his agenda, Senate Republicans are working to pass the reduced budget.

Their version would push other initiatives such as extending his tax credits — which Trump implemented in his first term, and which expire at the end of the year — down the road several months.

The Republican leadership in the House of Representatives prefer the “big beautiful” bill that includes the tax credits and other flagship measures.

The strategy is not without risk.Massive federal programs such as Medicare and Medicaid, providing health insurance for millions of Americans, could be targeted by staunch conservatives in the House as they seek to offset the cost of extending Trump’s tax credits.

But slashing those programs could prove wildly unpopular. With only a slim majority in the House, Republicans risk seeing their text rejected.

Trump thanked Senate Republicans in a post on his Truth Social platform Thursday for working to fund his border program.

But he did not backtrack on his earlier comments calling for the larger House budget framework to pass.

“We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to ‘kickstart’ the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL,'” he wrote in a Truth Social post Wednesday.