Senate Republicans are expected to begin procedural work on a compromise budget resolution to underpin President Donald Trump’s reconciliation agenda as soon as Wednesday. The Senate could follow with a ‘vote-a-rama’ on Thursday, allowing the Senate to adopt a budget by Friday and synch up with the House to unlock reconciliation - the process to pass Trump's agenda along party lines.
- The 'Big Six' tax negotiators - Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Leader John Thune (R-SD), Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, NEC Kevin Hassett, Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-TX), and House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO) - will meet again on Tuesday.
- Politico reports Senators expect to receive a decision from the Senate Parliamentarian by Tuesday or Wednesday on whether using ‘current policy baseline', which costs renewing Trump’s 2017 tax cuts at $0, conforms with the rules of reconciliation - a crucial pillar of the Senate strategy.
- Although there is considerable daylight in deficit reduction targets mandated by the House and Senate budgets, Republican leaders believe discrepancies can be resolved in the coming weeks with more information available on tariff revenue and other spending priorities.
- Punchbowl reports that even with a compromise budget resolution in place, “House deficit hawks could conclude the Senate isn’t serious enough about locking in big spending cuts... If that happens, the Senate’s plans could shift or the two chambers could end up back in a standoff. Other details also need finalizing, like the specific debt-limit increase. House Republicans approved $4 trillion, while the Senate GOP has floated $5 trillion.”