Byrd Rule: How the Senate's 'guardrail' could change the 'big, beautiful bill’

The GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act has moved to the Senate to be considered for debate and possible revision. While President Donald Trump’s tax and spending plan passed in the House, different rules in the Senate may end up stripping out certain proposals.

The Senate has a rule for so-called reconciliation bills known as the Byrd rule, which limits the budget-based bill from meandering too far outside a fiscal pathway. There has also been concern about whether some items increase the deficit past the bill’s fiscal window in 2034, which could be a violation of the Byrd rule.