WASHINGTON (AP) — Senators are prepared for an all-night session, kicking off a budget “vote-a-rama” late Thursday in a significant, albeit unpopular, move to advance a $340 billion proposal that President Donald Trump’s administration claims is essential for mass deportations and security initiatives prioritized by Republicans.
If there’s ever been a moment to keep an eye on Congress, it’s now. Or perhaps not. Senators will vote in rapid succession for hours on various amendments, delving into complex policy issues, primarily introduced by Democrats aiming to block the package. Ultimately, the Republicans are expected to make a final effort to leverage their majority to pass it through a party-line vote in the early morning hours.
“Today, we’re initiating a process that will enable the Republican Party to fulfill President Trump’s immigration objectives,” Senate Budget Committee chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., stated as he commenced the debate.
Graham noted that Trump’s top immigration official informed senators that the administration’s deportation initiatives are currently “out of funds” and require additional support from Congress for detaining and deporting immigrants.
With limited power in the minority to counter the onslaught, Democrats will utilize the overnight discussion to compel GOP senators into potentially uncomfortable votes — beginning with a motion to block tax breaks for billionaires.
“This is shaping up to be a long, drawn-out battle,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer warned.
“Days like today, where we vote on amendments into the late hours, significantly illustrate where each party stands and whom they represent,” the New York senator remarked. “Democrats are eager for this discussion.”
The package progressing in the Senate is viewed by Republicans as a down payment on Trump’s agenda, part of a larger initiative that will ultimately include legislation to extend around $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and other priorities. This is being coordinated by House Speaker Mike Johnson as part of a different budget proposal aiming for up to $2 trillion in reductions to health care and other programs.
Trump has advocated for what he labels a “big, beautiful bill,” but the White House is receptive to the Senate’s approach of first addressing the border package before later focusing on tax reduction.
What’s included in the Senate GOP proposal
The Republican Senate proposal would allocate up to $175 billion for border security, comprising funds for mass deportation programs and the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall, along with a $150 billion increase for the Pentagon and approximately $20 billion for the Coast Guard.
However, even if the Senate manages to approve the package during the overnight session, no funds will be disbursed immediately.
The budget resolution simply serves as a framework, directing various Senate committees — Homeland Security, Armed Services, Judiciary — to finalize the specifics. Ultimately, everything will come together in a separate package, followed by another vote-a-rama.
Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., the No. 2-ranking Senate Republican, stated that GOP lawmakers are acting swiftly to provide the necessary resources requested by the administration to control illegal border crossings.
“The budget will facilitate the completion of the wall. It also takes crucial steps towards increasing the number of border agents,” Barrasso explained. “It means additional detention beds… It translates to more deportation flights.”
Republicans assert that the entire initiative will be funded responsibly without adding to the national debt, considering a variety of options involving both spending cuts and new revenue streams.
The committees may contemplate rolling back the Biden administration’s methane emissions fee, which was established by Democrats as part of their climate strategies within the Inflation Reduction Act, while also aiming to generate new revenue from energy leases to enhance domestic energy production.
Democrats are prepared for a fight
Democrats will first propose a vote aimed at preventing tax breaks for billionaires, as per a source familiar with the plans who requested anonymity to discuss the strategy.
Democrats contend that the GOP tax cuts enacted in 2017 primarily benefited the wealthiest Americans, and extending them as Trump urges Congress to do later this year would simply continue this trend.
Schumer initiated a strategy earlier this week to utilize this initial budget debate to spotlight both the repercussions of tax policy and the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, which is making cuts across the federal landscape.
This approach is seen as more advantageous for Democrats than opposing tougher border security and deportations, a stance that could cause divisions within the party.
Sen. Patty Murray, the leading Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, pointed out that since 2001, a series of Republican-led tax cuts has been the primary contributor to the national debt.
“And you won’t believe what our Republican colleagues across the aisle are focusing on right now; it’s not reducing the cost of eggs, it’s actually more Republican tax cuts,” Murray remarked.
She characterized the budget plan as a “roadmap for painful cuts to programs that families rely on every single day, all to provide billionaires with more tax breaks.”
Congress is at an impasse
The budget resolution is establishing what’s referred to as the reconciliation process, which was once a rarity but is now routinely used to pass significant legislation along party lines when one party controls both the White House and Congress, as the Republicans currently do.
However, Republicans are currently at odds about the best path forward. The House is advancing with its “big, beautiful bill,” believing they have a singular opportunity to get it right. The Senate considers its dual-bill approach more practical, prioritizing border security first before addressing taxes.
Budget regulations permit passage through a simple majority vote, which is crucial in the Senate where 60 votes are typically needed to overcome a filibuster on significant legislation. During Trump’s first term, Republicans utilized the reconciliation process to enact GOP tax cuts in 2017. Democrats have also employed reconciliation in the Biden administration’s term to approve COVID-19 relief and the Inflation Reduction Act.
Trump seems to be inciting the conflict, pitting House and Senate Republicans against one another to see which side can expedite the process more swiftly.
