Trump Legislative Agenda Unlocked as House Passes Historic Budget Resolution

Congress is sending a budget resolution to the Resolute Desk, a major victory for President Donald Trump and his legislative push.

The House passed a budget resolution previously amended by the Senate Thursday morning, a feat up in the air until a handful of holdouts voted yes at the very end of a roll call vote.

The resolution passed 216 to 214. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) were the only GOP dissenters.

“Congratulations to the House on the passage of a Bill that sets the stage for one of the Greatest and Most Important Signings in the History of our Country,” a jubilant Trump posted on Truth Social. “Among many other things, it will be the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts ever even contemplated. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

The issue had snuck under the radar as tariffs dominated headlines throughout the week. But the budget resolution is unequivocally necessary for Trump to move his legislative agenda on Capitol Hill through budget reconciliation — the same process through which he passed his 2017 tax cuts and which President Joe Biden used to pass the ill-named Inflation Reduction Act.

Although reconciliation comes with some procedural (primarily in the Senate) headaches and other limitations, it allows Republicans to move forward in the Senate with a simple majority, bypassing the 60-vote requirement for most legislation.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) spiked the football after the vote.

“I told you not to doubt us,” he said after the vote, crowing that Trump did not have to “call a single member.”

Despite Johnson’s bravado, Trump and his team leaned hard on Republicans to pass the bill. Trump himself hosted two dozen or so holdouts at the White House earlier in the week (a meeting Johnson should remember — he attended).

A large chunk of budget hawks — including the usual skeptical conservative blocks as well as more mainstream figures in the conference — were skeptical the Senate would deliver on spending cuts. The Senate amended the instructions from the previously passed House budget from a mandatory $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to a (relatively) paltry $4 billion.

Senators insisted this was necessary to ensure parliamentary compliance and keep the bill’s privileged status that is required to move the bill under reconciliation.

Regardless, Senate Republicans’ long history of pursuing unrestrained spending gave House holdouts justifiable cause for skepticism.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Johnson held a brief joint press conference Thursday morning less than an hour before the vote. Thune gave assurances Senate Republicans were “serious” about pursuing spending cuts and were “aligned” with the House.

The Senate leader vowed his Republicans would “do everything we can to be as aggressive as possible” but stopped short of any further commitments.

After further discussions among House holdouts, with House leaders facilitating conversations, Thune’s public comments proved enough.

Republicans will use reconciliation to advance the bulk of Trump’s legislative agenda on border and immigration, energy, and — perhaps most importantly — spending cuts and taxes.

“This vote is more than a budget win; it’s a statement of purpose and strength, which affirms the Trump Administration’s commitment to delivering growth and opportunity,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tweeted after the vote. “I am greatly encouraged by the incredible Republican unity under President Donald J. Trump’s leadership and the historic speed by which the House is acting to stand with American taxpayers and job creators.”

Despite the justified optimism, the road ahead will be difficult. Each committee is tasked with nailing down concrete provisions, of which tax cuts will be most vexing. And they must find the savings through spending cuts to pay for extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts, no tax on tips and other new policies, and – ideally – to make those or as many tax cuts as possible permanent.

That’s a monumental task, which will occupy the bulk of Congressional attention for the foreseeable future – in 2017, Republicans were not able to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act until December.

But with the budget resolution out of the way, the attention can turn to reconciliation. And that’s a giant step and win for Trump’s agenda.

Bradley Jaye is Deputy Political Editor for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter and Instagram @BradleyAJaye.