Republicans in the Senate succeeded in passing a Trump-endorsed budget resolution on a straight party-line vote of 51 to 48 just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, were the only Republicans to vote against it.
The resolution’s passage is an important step in advancing a bill that would help fulfill many of President Donald Trump’s campaign promises: providing funding for border and defense, as well as renewing his 2017 tax cuts.
The vote followed a long “vote-a-rama” that began Friday evening. Lawmakers were allowed to introduce myriad amendments during the period of debate.
The budget resolution is a necessary first step in the budgetary process, in which Congress lays out spending targets in different policy areas. Those ceilings and floors for spending are further fleshed out and codified by the budget reconciliation process.
Trump endorsed the Senate plan in a Truth Social post Wednesday, in which he called for rapid action.
“Speaker of the House Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have been working tirelessly on taking the next step to pass the plan for our ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday, adding:
The Senate Plan has my Complete and Total Support. Likewise, the House is working along the same lines. Every Republican, House and Senate, must UNIFY. We need to pass it IMMEDIATELY!
In February, Trump praised the House of Representatives’ budget resolution, which was passed independently of the Senate. Both houses must approve the same resolution by a simple majority.
After weeks of meetings between Johnson and Thune, the Senate released a compromise budget plan to pass through both chambers, which was voted on Saturday.
After the passage of the Senate budget resolution, the House must now agree on a compromise resolution with the Senate. The final resolution from both house of Congress must be identical.
In February, Johnson was able to narrowly pass a budget resolution through the House on a party-line 217-215 vote, with Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., as the only Republican defector.
