Senate GOP isn’t sold on Mike Johnson’s budget blueprint

Summary

Senate Republicans are pouring cold water on the House GOP’s $95 billion blueprint for a new party-line spending package. Their skepticism is a reality check on Speaker Mike Johnson ’s ambitious pledge that the Senate will adopt a budget resolution before leaving in early August. “That’d be news to me,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday about Johnson’s floated timeline, indicating he had signed on to no such thing. His comments came as the House Budget Committee debated a resolution that would pave the way for drafting and passing a party-line policy bill with the power to skirt the Senate filibuster. But Johnson’s penchant for speaking for the Senate over the past year, including during last summer’s debate over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, has been a point of frustration for Thune and his allies — especially because Thune is mindful not to speak for the House. Some Senate Republicans are also exasperated with the House’s decision to push forward with a third reconciliation attempt — a followup to last year’s tax-cuts-focused megabill and the immigration enforcement package from June. It's not just the timeline though that is an issue in the Senate, though: The House’s blueprint also contains $73 billion for military and intelligence efforts, as well as $12 billion in farm assistance and $10 billion for election-related efforts. Senate GOP defense hawks want a higher number for the military, and agriculture-state Republicans are clamoring for more farm aid. That means the Senate will need to amend the House budget blueprint to add instructions for its own committees that could involve setting higher spending ceilings for the military and agriculture aid, according to three people granted anonymity to speak candidly. Thune tipped his hand Thursday morning to the hurdles he’ll face among Senate Republicans, repeatedly asking, “Is the juice worth the squeeze?” He also noted that while defense hawks would want a larger military number, fiscal hawks are going to want to pay for the bill. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 2 GOP leader, is also keeping his powder dry but predicted that Johnson will need to help sell Senate Republicans on any budget resolution that can get through the House.