GOP budget plan advances, but tax and spending battles loom

Senate Republicans passed a budget resolution Friday, prioritizing national security spending but punting major decisions on tax cuts and spending reductions, leaving uncertainty about the fate of President Donald Trump’s broader fiscal agenda, reports the New York Times.

The Senate’s budget blueprint, approved 52-48, authorizes $150 billion in additional defense spending and $175 billion for border security over the next decade. However, it lacks specifics on funding these increases, deferring tax and spending decisions to a later bill. Senate Republicans aim to extend Trump’s 2017 corporate tax cuts permanently, but they have yet to outline how they will offset the estimated $4 trillion cost.

The House, meanwhile, is advancing a different approach—a single sweeping budget that combines deep spending cuts with major tax reductions. Semafor reports House Republicans need near-unanimous support from their party, but internal divisions, particularly over proposed Medicaid cuts, threaten to derail the plan.

Trump has publicly endorsed the House approach but has privately signaled openness to the Senate’s strategy. Vice President JD Vance acknowledged the divide, saying Trump values “optionality."

With no consensus between chambers and resistance to major safety net cuts from moderates, the GOP’s budget negotiations remain precarious. “Let’s stop playing the game of chicken,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-MO, warned.