President Donald Trump sided with House Republicans in a brewing fight over whether to pass his agenda in one or two parts on Wednesday, undercutting Senate GOP leaders poised to take a key vote advancing their plan later this week.
In a post to Truth Social, Trump praised both chambers for doing a “SPECTACULAR job of working together” but said House Republicans’ budget resolution, which tackles tax reform alongside priorities such as the border, is better than Sen. Lindsey Graham‘s (R-SC) because it “implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!”
The measure put forward by Graham, the chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, focuses on border security, defense, and energy but leaves the tax portion for later in the year.
“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!” Trump wrote.
The argument over whether to move forward with a one- or two-bill approach to reconciliation, a process that allows Republicans to sidestep the Senate filibuster, has divided the House and Senate for weeks.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) views an all-encompassing bill as necessary to pass Trump’s agenda given his razor-thin margins in the House, but the Senate does not want the border and defense money locked up for months as the tax portion is negotiated.
The president originally pushed for “one big beautiful bill,” but during House Republicans’ issues retreat in Florida, he said he did not care if it was one or two as long as his agenda was implemented as quickly as possible.
Johnson had urged Senate leaders to let the House move first on reconciliation, but Graham leapfrogged over him at the beginning of February as the timeline for the House’s “blueprint” began to slip.
On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) announced the Senate would bring Graham’s budget resolution to the floor. Minutes later, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) put out a statement calling for one bill.
“All of Trump’s priorities in one big, beautiful bill start moving when we pass [Rep. Jodey Arrington’s] budget,” Scalise wrote.
After news of Trump’s endorsement dropped, Thune told reporters he “didn’t see that one coming.”
“We’re planning to maintain our schedule, but obviously we’re interested in and hoping to hear with more clarity where the White House is coming from,” the majority leader said, adding there are “small differences with respect to tactics.”
“We’re interested in what the House can pass…but in the near term, the president has asked for resources to secure the border, we know we have to rebuild our military, and those are priorities that are addressed in the targeted bill that we’ve put together,” Thune continued.
In the House, Johnson faces a careful balancing act as he prepares to bring his budget resolution to the floor, as the deep spending cuts demanded by the Freedom Caucus cause heartburn among the House’s GOP centrists.
Johnson said in a statement that Republicans were given a mandate and “we MUST deliver” with one bill. The Washington Examiner confirmed that the House will bring up its budget resolution on the floor next week when lawmakers return from a week-long recess.
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“The House budget resolution implements President Trump’s FULL America First agenda, not just parts of it with promises to come back later for the rest,” Johnson said.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Graham’s office for comment.
