Breaking: House Passes Trump’s Big Beautiful Budget Resolution

Just minutes ago, the House of Representatives passed President Trump’s major budget resolution framework on a party-line vote. The move is only the first of many steps to reconcile a budget bill with the Senate.

Among the key points, the bill includes a “no tax on tips” provision, a “no tax on overtime” provision, an extension of the Trump tax cuts, and many other campaign promises the President ran on:

• Purpose: Establishes a budget framework to unlock the reconciliation process, allowing Republicans to pass Trump’s agenda with a simple majority, bypassing a Senate filibuster.
  Tax Cuts: Proposes up to $4.5 trillion in tax reductions over 10 years, primarily by extending and making permanent the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), set to expire at the end of 2025, benefiting workers, families, and small businesses.
• Spending Cuts: Targets at least $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in reductions to mandatory spending over 10 years, with significant pressure on programs like Medicaid (up to $880 billion in potential cuts via the Energy and Commerce Committee), SNAP, and clean energy subsidies, though specifics remain flexible for committee discretion.
• Border Security and Defense: Allocates over $100 billion in new spending, including funds for immigration enforcement, border wall construction, and military enhancements, aligning with Trump’s “America First” security focus.
• Debt Ceiling Increase: Includes a $4 trillion raise to the federal debt limit to accommodate borrowing needs, a contentious point given the U.S. hit its current ceiling in January 2025.
• Energy Policy: Aims to reverse Biden-era regulations, promoting domestic energy production and deregulation, though exact funding isn’t specified in the resolution itself.
  Deficit Impact: Likely to increase the federal deficit by $2.8 trillion to $3.4 trillion over a decade, balancing tax cuts and spending increases with optimistic growth projections rather than fully offsetting costs.
• Next Steps: If aligned with the Senate’s version (passed February 21 with a $340 billion focus on border and defense), committees will draft detailed legislation, but House and Senate differences (e.g., Senate’s exclusion of tax cuts) must be reconciled for final passage.

As noted, the Senate will now have to play ball, and details and differences must be hammered out in what is called the budget reconciliation process, a move that allows spending-related measures to pass both chambers with a simple majority.

The process starts with Congress passing a budget resolution—like the one voted on in the House today—that sets broad fiscal targets and gives instructions to specific committees to draft legislation aligning with those goals. These committee proposals are then combined into a single reconciliation bill, which, after debate and amendments, can be passed quickly, making it a powerful tool for enacting major policy changes, such as Trump’s tax cuts or spending reductions, with limited bipartisan support.

Here’s the final tally:

BREAKING: Every Democrat in the House of Representatives just voted against No tax on tips and No tax on overtime. pic.twitter.com/zaMXmefHbQ

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) February 26, 2025