House OKs Trump’s Budget Framework, Reconciliation Comes Next
The House GOP passed a budget blueprint, which aligns with the Trump administration’s priorities.
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Updated on April 10
On Thursday, the House GOP passed a sweeping budget blueprint that paves the way for President Donald Trump’s fiscal plans to become a reality.
The measure passed by a razor-thin margin of 216 to 214.
The House GOP adopted a framework identical to the one approved by the Senate on April 5, which unlocks a process called reconciliation. Legislators must now reconcile a budget that includes specific details on cuts and revenue sources, which would require only a simple 51-vote majority to pass. The reconciliation process also prevents Democrats from filibustering.
The bill is expected to further the president’s agenda. Since Trump took office, he has relied on executive orders and the efforts of his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to fulfill his priorities. Those have included downsizing the federal workforce, as well as probing and dismantling certain government departments. Trump has also launched a bevy of tariffs that have sparked uncertainty in the markets and among economists, as well as consumers and business leaders.
Reconciliation could prove difficult due to infighting between hardline and moderate House Republicans that shaped much of the conversation around passing the budget blueprint. Here are some of the highlights of what’s in the budget framework now headed for reconciliation:
$3.8 trillion in tax cuts over the next 10 years, including an extension of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. It also allows for $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, compared to $700 billion included in the previous version of the bill that the House passed in February.
$4 billion in spending cuts to pay for other parts of the bill such as tax cuts, border security and defense. It’s double the spending cuts that were included in the previous bill.
Allows $500 billion in increased spending for defense and border security, compared to $300 billion allocated in the previous bill.
Raising the debt limit to $4 trillion. The U.S. hit its debt limit in January and the Treasury has had to employ extraordinary measures to stave off a default, which would have catastrophic economic consequences. Raising the debt limit would prevent a default.
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