Senate GOP pushes Trump budget framework through after marathon vote series

The Senate passed a framework for a sweeping bill promoting President Donald Trump’s agenda after an hourslong series of amendment votes during which Democrats sought to put Republicans on record on issues like tariffs and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). It passed mostly along party lines in a 51 to 48 vote around 2:30 a.m.ET on Saturday morning.

Sens.Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., were the only two Republicans to join Democrats in opposing the measure.The amended framework would raise the debt ceiling by up to $5 trillion within the reconciliation process, taking future leverage away from Senate Democrats.It would also make Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent by using what’s called a current policy baseline that Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-SC., decides.The scoring tool essentially means the cost of making Trump’s tax cuts permanent would be factored at $0 because it extends current policy, rather than counting it as new dollars being added to the federal deficit.Some conservatives have signaled they’re wary of using that method, however.Sen.

Bill Cassidy, R-La., said on the Senate floor ahead of the vote series, “I have been assured that there is a commitment and other ways to pay for the eventual reconciliation bill.”“Now, I am not saying that I think that it is better that we use current policy as baseline.It’s never been done before in a setting like this.

I think it establishes a dangerous precedent.It might be within the rules to do so, but it doesn’t mean it’s wise to do so,” he said.Some House conservatives have gone so far as to call it a “gimmick.”Senate GOP leaders made clear they were in lock-step behind the framework, however.“This resolution is the first step toward a final bill to make permanent the tax relief we implemented in 2017 and deliver a transformational investment in our border, national, and energy security – all accompanied by substantial savings measures an...