WASHINGTON — President Trump insisted Wednesday that Senate Republicans abandon their effort to dump his promised tax reductions from a pending budget reconciliation bill — a strategy that House Republicans fear could doom his core campaign pledges to workers and retirees.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Tuesday that he would call a vote on a package proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that includes border and energy reforms but not tax provisions, which would subject the latter to a higher vote threshold to pass.
“The House and Senate are doing a SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable, TEAM, however, unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to ‘kickstart’ the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.’ It will, without question, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Budget reconciliation bills can pass with a bare majority in both chambers, but typically only one budget reconciliation bill can pass each fiscal year, meaning a second tranche of Trump’s priorities likely would need to secure 60 votes to reach the Senate floor, requiring seven Democratic votes.
House Republicans led by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) believe a sprawling single package would force party members into line, despite the GOP’s narrow 218-215 majority in the lower chamber.
Senate Republicans, who are quietly skeptical about the possible deficit-boosting effects of Trump’s tax policies, argue that two bills would allow greater leeway to navigate internal disagreements.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday vowed “a long, drawn-out fight” that would highlight Democratic opposition to Elon Musk’s ongoing Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative, which has moved to slash billions in federal agency spending while firing thousands of civil servants.
Graham’s budget resolution advanced through committee last week and includes an increase of $175 billion in spending for border security and $150 billion in additional defense spending over the next decade.
Thune told The Post following a meeting with Trump in January that the president’s promises to abolish taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security income may not even end up in a tax bill.
“Those things are all on the table. When that gets done is still a point of debate,” Thune said.
“Obviously there is a lot involved in crafting a tax bill … There are a lot of moving parts. There are a lot of suggestions that have come up, and the president has put on the table, which we will take under consideration. But in the end, we want to produce a bill that extends the existing tax policy that will prevent a $4.6 trillion tax increase on the American people at the end of the year, and hopefully accomplish some other things that the president has laid out as objectives.”
Trump has had a contentious relationship with Thune for years — in 2020 dubbing the then-Senate GOP whip “Mitch’s Boy,” in reference to then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and declaring: “South Dakota doesn’t like weakness. He will be primaried in 2022, political career over!!!” (In fact, Thune cruised to victory in both the primary and general elections that year.)
The tax items left out of the pending Senate bill include plans to extend expiring cuts to individual tax rates that were approved in 2017, as well as a range of new proposals that Trump campaigned on ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
The White House previously indicated that it wants Trump’s proposals to abolish taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits included in the reconciliation bill.
Trump also campaigned on allowing tax deductions for interest on loans for domestic cars and scrapping the $10,000 cap on state and local taxes that can be deducted from federal tax bills, which particularly impacts high-tax jurisdictions like New York.
Trump has proposed paying for the tax cuts by closing the carried interest loophole that benefits hedge fund managers and perks for wealthy sports team owners. He’s also argued that higher tariffs and federal spending cuts could finance the reforms.
