The president urged the Senate to take up the House-passed framework before August recess, intensifying a clash with John Thune over a $95 billion package and the votes needed to move it.
President Trump is escalating pressure on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to take up the House-passed budget resolution before the August recess, arguing the chamber should use a simple-majority process to advance a roughly $95 billion package for defense and intelligence, farm aid and election-related measures. Thune said he does not currently have 50 votes to move the resolution and has suggested holding it as a possible vehicle for a September government funding stopgap instead. The dispute has sharpened tensions between the White House and Senate Republicans at a time when Congress is also confronting a Sept. 30 funding deadline. Trump said on Truth Social that the Senate should adopt the budget resolution before leaving Washington, while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said his patience with Thune is running out. Thune responded that critics should help secure the votes and argued Democrats are blocking action on the floor. Passage of a joint budget resolution would unlock budget reconciliation, allowing some legislation to clear the Senate with a simple majority rather than face a Democratic filibuster. But efforts to use that path for Trump-backed election priorities face procedural and political obstacles. Senate parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has ruled that Trump’s top legislative priority is not eligible for reconciliation under Senate rules, and Republican senators are also divided over whether to offset the package’s cost with spending cuts.