The vote on the budget resolution in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 22, 2026, begins a confrontation between Republican Party legislators in Congress over exactly how much funding should be provided for the war in Iran. The damaged B1 bridge is shown the day after it was destroyed by an airstrike on April 3, 2026, west of Tehran in Karaj, Iran. (Photo: Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON – House Republicans approved their outline of a Line Three budget measure in the second Trump administration on Wednesday, although they won’t be able to start work on the package until they reach an agreement with their Senate colleagues on a plan going forward.
The 216-214 votes over the budget resolution, sets up a confrontation between GOP lawmakers in Congress over exactly how much money should go to the Iran war and farm aid, and whether lawmakers should pay for it while cutting spending elsewhere.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have proposed a total of $95 billion in spending budget resolution. The instructions in that plan would allow four committees to write bills that would spend up to $60 billion for the military, $13 billion for intelligence agencies, $12 billion for agricultural aid and $10 billion for some kind of grant program for states that implement voter ID laws.
However, work on this package can only begin when Republicans in both chambers vote to adopt the same budget resolution with identical sets of reconciliation instructions.
Third time
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said during floor debate that the GOP had twice used the reconciliation process to achieve policy goals that would not gain Democratic support.
This first happened last year, when Congress approved a “big, beautiful” bill. The second came earlier this year, when lawmakers approved three years of funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol with no novel restrictions on federal agents. Both were signed by President Donald Trump.
“Here we are in Reconciliation 3.0, supporting our troops in their time of need,” Arrington said. “Just basic battlefield preparedness. Bullets and bombs to finish the job.”
He added that the reconciliation package, which has not yet been written, would likely “strengthen our food supply” and “secure the integrity of our elections.”
Pennsylvania Democratic Rep. Brendan Boyle, a ranking member of the panel, said Republicans’ support for the previous two packages and this budget outline show they are not focused on lowering costs for Americans.
Boyle also questioned the authenticity of GOP candidates’ campaign promises to reduce the annual federal deficit, given that this and previous party legislation will have a significant impact on the national debt.
“Yes, that’s right, the same crowd that loves to cry crocodile tears over deficits and debt whenever a Democrat president is in the White House — in total, they have added $5 trillion to our national debt, more than in any other 18-month period in congressional history,” he said. “And they’re going to add another $100 billion.”
Senate GOP not on board
Senate Republicans don’t fully agree on the spending levels proposed by their House counterparts, with some wanting much more defense funding and others looking for ways to offset costs.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-D., said during a Tuesday afternoon news conference that he is unlikely to introduce any budget resolution until lawmakers figure out a way to fund the government before the Oct. 1 shutdown deadline.
A congressional budget resolution is just a project, similar to a house-building project. This is not a bill and never goes to the president for signature.
Lawmakers operate an entirely separate process to fund the government through more than a dozen annual appropriations bills.
But with lawmakers nowhere near completing their appropriations task before the start of the novel fiscal year, they must agree to some short-term spending bill to avoid another shutdown this fall.
House this week passed a stopgap bill that would extend that deadline to Dec. 4, but doesn’t have the support needed to advance in the Senate, where leaders of both political parties are working on a bipartisan compromise.
Thune said he expects the Senate to vote on the stopgap spending bill before leaving for its August recess, which could delay work on a budget resolution until the chamber returns in mid-September.
“It is possible that it will be postponed to September,” he said.
That could mean a significant time crunch for Republicans if they want to operate the elaborate budget reconciliation process to pass their defense and farm aid spending package along party lines before the November midterm elections.
Both houses are scheduled to hold just three weeks of session in September, after which parliamentarians will go on a five-week October break.
And while the House can approve a budget resolution and a possible package along party lines without requiring a single ballot amendment, the process in the Senate is much more complex.
The Senate is conducting unlimited debate on amendments on both measures, giving Democrats in that chamber dozens of opportunities to challenge Republicans on spending and policy choices.
That’s not necessarily an ideal scenario for Senate Republican leaders, who hope voters will allow the party to maintain a slim majority for another two years.
Shauneen Miranda contributed to this report.
