WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. Senate “vote-a-rama” marathon session headed into the early hours of Saturday, with the aim of eventually handing Republican President Donald Trump sweeping legislation to cut taxes and reduce spending over staunch Democratic opposition.
Republicans and Democrats considered well over a dozen amendments aimed at altering a budget framework for Trump’s tax, border, immigration and military agenda, with a vote on the resolution expected later on Saturday.
Congress needs to pass the budget resolution to unlock a fast-track procedure to circumvent Democratic roadblocks and enact Trump’s legislation in the months ahead. If the Senate approves the measure, it will move to the House of Representatives for consideration next week.
Trump is pushing hard for Republicans, who narrowly control both chambers, to hand him what he calls “one big beautiful bill” that also would pay for additional resources for securing the U.S. border with Mexico, deporting immigrants and bolstering the military.
Some Republicans said the path forward for Trump’s agenda could be complicated by recession worries if financial markets continue to reel over the president’s tariff policy.
“My concern is, if we are having the kind of conversation today three weeks from now, then the distraction will be so great that it will slow down what we try to do,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters.
Under the rosiest scenarios, it could take months for the Senate and House to get to the point of voting on legislation to enact Trump’s tax cuts, which some estimate could add at least $5 trillion over 10 years to a national debt that is already is more than $36.6 trillion.
Republicans have been fighting behind the scenes over proposals to repeal popular environmental policies and overhaul social safety-net programs including Medicaid healthcare for lower-income Americans to generate spending cuts that could help pay for the Trump agenda.
‘EXPOSE THE DARK CORNERS’
Soon after the amendment voting began, the Senate adopted a Republican measure establishing a deficit-neutral reserve fund to help protect Medicaid and the Medicare healthcare program for the elderly.
Republicans turned away a Democratic amendment to rescind Trump trade tariffs that raise prices on groceries, medicine and other consumer products, while leaving tariffs in place on China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Multiple efforts to block a planned Republican extension of tax cuts for billionaires and other wealthy Americans also failed.
Some Democratic measures aimed at supporting Ukraine and protecting safety-net programs drew token support from Republicans including Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, but not enough to be added to the framework.
One Republican senator, fiscal hawk Rand Paul, opposed the Trump framework in a preliminary vote on Thursday because it includes a $5 trillion increase in the borrowing limit on the federal debt. His amendment to sharply reduce the debt ceiling increase failed in a 94-5 vote.
“It’s always been the conservative position not to add debt; not to add extraordinary amounts,” Paul, who is expected to oppose passage of the framework, said in an interview.
“This may well be a record amount of debt. I’m not sure we’ve ever voted for $5 trillion in debt,” the Kentucky Republican said.
(Reporting by Richard Cowan, Bo Erickson and David Morgan; Editing by Christopher Cushing, Alistair Bell and William Mallard)
By David Morgan, Richard Cowan and Bo Erickson
