Speaker Mike Johnson wants the House to advance a Trump budget bill by the end of the month. (Getty Images)
It also directs $4 trillion toward raising the debt limit, and it includes $4.5 trillion to extend Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and other tax provisions pushed by the president for the next 10 years.
House and Senate Republicans are aiming to use the budget reconciliation process to pass a broad range of Trump policy goals, from border security to eliminating taxes on tipped and overtime wages.
By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority, it will allow the GOP to use their razor-thin majorities to get legislation signed into law with zero Democratic support, provided the measures included relate to the budget and other fiscal matters.
Conservative spending hawks on the House Budget Committee had demanded assurances that Republicans would seek to cut spending as deeply as possible in the reconciliation process, particularly to offset new spending on Trump’s tax priorities.
House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told reporters early Thursday afternoon that committee Republicans came to an agreement on an amendment that would win over holdouts, however.
Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham moved his own version of the bill on Wednesday (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
But while the House’s bill passed a critical test on Thursday, it’s just the first step in a long process.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Passing a budget resolution then sends instructions to other committees to seek cuts and policy changes in their respective jurisdictions, before those proposals are added back to one large bill.
The House and Senate must also agree on a compromise between their two versions and pass identical pieces of legislation before they can be sent to Trump’s desk.
Republicans have a three seat majority in the Senate and a one seat majority in the House, meaning they can afford precious little dissent among themselves to pass a final bill.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-budget-bill-survives-key-hurdle-despite-house-republican-infighting