Republicans aren't necessarily on the same page just yet about budget reconciliation. (Reuters)
The budget reconciliation process lowers the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 out of 100, allowing the party in power to skirt its opposition to advance its agenda, so long as the included provisions relate to budgetary and other fiscal matters. The House of Representatives already has a simple majority threshold.
The process is crucial for Republicans, who have a trifecta in Washington, to get certain Trump agenda items accomplished.
CONGRESS EXPANDED THE EXECUTIVE—ONLY FOR TRUMP TO QUASH MUCH OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE STATE
The Senate GOP aide noted that the Senate managed to pass its preferred reconciliation bill as part of a two-track plan – before the House passed an alternate version.
Early Monday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., released a joint statement alongside 12 chairs of committees with jurisdiction in the budget reconciliation process.
"We took the first step to accomplish that by passing a budget resolution weeks ago, and we look forward to the Senate joining us in this commitment to ensure we enact President Trump’s full agenda as quickly as possible," they said. "The American people gave us a mandate, and we must act on it. We encourage our Senate colleagues to take up the House budget resolution when they return to Washington."
Sen. Johnson isn't sold on the House's bill. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who has been generally opposed to the House's one-bill reconciliation approach, also pushed back on their statement. "Until we seriously address out-of-control spending and create an effective process to return to a reasonable pre-pandemic level, I will not support another budget resolution," he told Fox News Digital in a statement. "Unfortunately, the House Budget Resolution does not do that."
Just before the brief legislative recess, Senate Finance Committee Republicans met with Trump at the White House to discuss the at-issue tax portion of his agenda and its reconciliation hopes.
Trump has in recent weeks backed off from taking explicit sides in the reconciliation fight between the GOP chambers, despite initially supporting the House's plan.
Trump met with Senate GOP before recess. (Getty Images)
At the center of the tax-cut controversy are Senate Republicans' claims that the House's bill would not make Trump's tax policies from 2017 permanent, and House GOP complaints that multiple reconciliation bills would be difficult to pass, given tight party margins.
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Senate Republicans did not include an extension of the tax cuts in their passed bill, preferring to do a separate reconciliation bill in the fall. Their bill instead focused on Trump's border priorities. The House's measure tackled both in one bill.
The House-passed bill has yet to be brought up in the Senate.
Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.
Follow Julia's reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to Julia.Johnson@fox.com.
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