The U.S. Senate approved President Trump's budget blueprint after an overnight voting session, with a 51-48 vote largely along party lines. Amendments targeting Trump's tariffs and tax cuts for the wealthy were defeated.
Key features include making permanent the 2017 tax cuts, setting funding levels for defense ($150 billion in the Senate, $100 billion in the House), and homeland security ($90 billion and $175 billion, respectively, for the House and Senate).
The use of 'current policy' as a baseline for calculating the bill's long-term impact has faced questions regarding its realism and may be challenged.
A provision mandating at least $880 billion in cuts, potentially impacting Medicaid, has caused divisions among Republicans. Democrats strongly oppose this, and some moderate Republicans express concern about the political consequences of such cuts.
The Senate resolution instructs the House to raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion, with a potential increase up to $5 trillion in the Senate version. This is a major sticking point for House conservatives, potentially causing the bill's failure.
The budget's passage in the House is uncertain, with concerns it could alienate both moderate and conservative Republicans. If passed, committees will draft legislation; both chambers must pass an identical version for it to reach President Trump's desk.