Senate vote-a-rama on Trump budget bill kicks off
The Senate on Friday night kicked off its vote-a-rama, a process that is likely to conclude with Republicans adopting the budget resolution that will serve as a blueprint for enacting President Trump's domestic agenda.
The lengthy string of amendment votes is set to run past midnight and into the wee hours of Saturday morning.
Democrats are expected to use the opportunity to put Republicans on the record on a host of issues, headlined by Trump's widespread tariffs that were rolled out earlier in the week and spawned major losses on Wall Street.
"Now, Donald Trump's agenda is on trial. It's time now for Republicans to answer," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said shortly before the vote-a-rama kicked off. "Tonight, Democrats will bring amendment after amendment to the floor --- one right after another, again and again and again."
Schumer added that the Democratic amendments will be focused on actions by the Department of Government Efficiency, along with cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid that Democrats say will be in the final bill.
"The choice is theirs," Schumer said. "Donald Trump has betrayed the American people. Will Senate Republicans join him in this betrayal?"
The vote-a-rama on the Senate's previous version of a budget resolution included 25 amendment votes and lasted nearly 10 hours overall.
The budget resolution would create the parameters for Republicans in their push to extend and make permanent Trump's 2017 tax cuts, which the party has made the top priority of its agenda on Capitol Hill. It also includes a hike in the debt ceiling and spending cuts.
Republicans are aiming to enact Trump's priorities through a process called budget reconciliation, which bypasses the Senate filibuster and thus can pass with only GOP votes.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) argued on the floor prior to the numerous amendment votes that the battle was all about "whether you want to vote for extending the tax policy and avoiding a $4 trillion tax increase or whether you want to vote in favor of this resolution and make sure the 2017 tax policy ... is extended permanently."