The Senate passed a budget resolution early Friday morning, largely along party lines after an overnight vote-a-rama that stretched about 10 hours.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Republican to vote against the measure, which focused on the border, rebuilding the nation’s defense, and energy priorities.
“We’re already hearing a lot of fake news about what the Senate budget does or doesn’t do,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said. “The truth is that this is a targeted effort to secure the border, provide for our national defense, and achieve energy dominance. Democrats have offered dozens of amendments to derail the agenda that @POTUS was elected on. It won’t work."
Senate Democrats caused record high inflation with their reckless spending.
— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) February 21, 2025
Our budget secures the border and cuts energy costs – critical steps in reducing prices for Americans.
The GOP senators forged ahead with the proposal despite President Trump's decision on Wednesday to endorse a competing plan put forward by House Republicans.
The Senate began what's known as a "vote-a-rama" on the GOP budget blueprint Thursday at shortly before 7 p.m., in which senators could offer an unlimited number of amendments and force the chamber to cast vote after vote through the night. After the Senate exhausted all amendment votes in the middle of the night, the lawmakers took a final vote on the budget resolution, which directs the committees to submit their proposed spending plans by March 7. The resolution was adopted, 52-48. (CBS News)
Ahead of votes, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) emphasized the need for a Plan B.
"To my House colleagues, we will all get there together if you can pass the one big, beautiful bill that makes the tax cuts permanent — not four or five years — then we'll all cheer over here," he said. "Nothing would please me more than Speaker Johnson being able to put together the bill that President Trump wants. I want that to happen. But I cannot sit on the sidelines and not have a Plan B."
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Thune made a similar argument.
"I think he's made it clear for a long time that he would prefer one big, beautiful bill, and we're fine with that too," Thune said Wednesday, referring to the president. "If the House can produce one big, beautiful bill, we're prepared to work with them to get that across the finish line, but we believe that the president also likes optionality."
The Republican Senate package would allow up to $175 billion to be spent on border security, including money for mass deportation operations and building the US-Mexico border wall, in addition to a $150 billion boost to the Pentagon and about $20 billion for the Coast Guard.
But there won’t be any money flowing just yet, as the process has several steps ahead.
The budget resolution is simply a framework that sends instructions to the various Senate committees — Homeland Security, Armed Services, Judiciary — to hammer out the details. Everything will eventually be assembled in another package, with another vote-a-rama down the road.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the No. 2-ranking Senate Republican, said GOP lawmakers are acting quickly to get the administration the resources they have requested and need to curb illegal border crossings.
“The budget will allow us to finish the wall. It also takes the steps we need toward more border agents,” Barrasso said. “It means more detention beds. … It means more deportation flights.”
Republicans insist the whole thing will be paid for, rather than piled onto debt, with potential spending cuts and new revenues. (New York Post)
Trump welcomed the Senate GOP's efforts.
"Thank you to Majority Leader John Thune, and the Republican Senate, for working so hard on funding the Trump Border Agenda," he wrote Thursday on Truth Social. "We are setting records, the likes of which have never been seen before, on stopping criminal illegals aliens from entering our Country. Put simply, we are delivering for the American People, far faster and, more successfully, than anyone thought possible. Your work on funding this effort is greatly appreciated!"
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