Washington — House Republicans released a budget resolution on Wednesday, laying a foundation for advancing President Trump’s agenda on border security, defense, energy and tax priorities, despite momentum around a competing proposal in the Senate.
The budget proposal says that the House Ways and Means Committee can pursue up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, and sets a goal of cutting mandatory spending by $2 trillion. It would also increase the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.
The long-awaited budget resolution comes as congressional leaders have been pursuing a massive legislative package under the budget reconciliation process that would enact Mr. Trump’s agenda, including resources to bolster border security, extend some of the 2017 tax cuts, incentivize domestic manufacturing and invest in American energy, while working to trim government programs and address the debt limit.
In the House, the process has faced delays amid intraparty disagreement on how to proceed. And the stalled progress in the lower chamber has prompted the Senate to move ahead with its own proposal in recent days, with a markup taking place Wednesday and Thursday.
The House Budget Committee is also set to begin marking up its newly released budget resolution on Thursday, as House Republicans look to keep pace with the competing Senate proposal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said in a post on X on Wednesday that nearly all House Republicans have been “directly engaged” in the process, saying the resolution “reflects our collective commitment to enacting the President’s full agenda — not just a part of it.”
“There will be ongoing debates and discussions in the coming weeks, and we remain focused on working through the process to deliver on our promises made to the American people,” Johnson said.
While House Republicans are pursuing one reconciliation package, Senate Republicans have advocated for a two-package approach, splitting border security, defense and energy from the tax components.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who chairs the Senate Budget Committee, is leading the charge in the upper chamber. He told reporters earlier in the week that while he supports the House’s effort to approve a single package, lawmakers can’t wait to iron out the complicated tax details. He reiterated that point Wednesday when the Senate Budget Committee began debate on the upper chamber’s plan, just as House Republicans released their proposal.
“To my Republican colleagues in the House, I’m pulling for one big, beautiful bill, but there’s a sense of urgency. I hope you will consider what we do if you cannot produce the one big, beautiful bill quickly,” Graham said.
“The campaign is behind us. It’s now time to govern. We made promises, we’re going to keep those promises,” he continued. “The next thing we’ll do is deal with taxes and spending.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters after the House budget was released Wednesday morning that it remains to be seen how the development will affect the Senate’s path forward, saying he met with Johnson on Tuesday and “we’re coordinating.”
“Members on our side have been prepared to act for awhile,” Thune said. “So we’ll see what the House is able to get done and produce and then we’ll go from there.”
Caitlin Yilek and
Cristina Corujo
contributed to this report.
