U.S. Senate Republicans’ Budget Plan

By David Morgan and Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans released a budget plan on Friday that aims to increase funding for President Donald Trump’s priorities in border security, energy, and military, while reducing domestic spending. The contentious tax cuts issue has been postponed until later this year.

Budget Details

The proposed plan would raise spending by $85 billion annually over four years, totaling approximately $340 billion, which would be offset through spending cuts.

House of Representatives’ Involvement

Republicans in the House are developing their budget plan, expected to be unveiled this weekend. House Speaker Mike Johnson mentioned, “The expectation is, we’ll be marking up a budget early next week, potentially as early as Tuesday.”

Resolving Differences

To navigate past Democratic opposition, the two chambers must reconcile their budget plans to access a parliamentary tool. With narrow majorities in both the House and Senate, Republicans have been negotiating how to fund the extension of tax cuts, which could significantly increase the national debt by an estimated $5 trillion to $11 trillion over the next decade, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Upcoming Events

Trump is scheduled for a dinner with Senate Republicans on Friday and will attend the Super Bowl with Johnson on Sunday.