Senate Dems blast GOP over late-night passage of blueprint to protect Trump agenda

Senate Democrats on Saturday blasted their GOP colleagues after the upper chamber advanced a budget blueprint overnight seeking to protect President Trump's legislative agenda.

The resolution passed in the upper chamber early Saturday morning by a 51-48 vote, after the upper chamber held an hours-long "vote-a-rama" on a series of amendments. The blueprint outlines plans to beef up border security, extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts, expand oil and gas drilling and increase defense spending.

Democrats took to social media to rail against the resolution.

“Just left the Senate after voting a hard NO on the ‘one big, beautiful bill,’” Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), wrote on social platform X, referring to the president's portrayal of the blueprint.

“I will never support a bill that uses Medicare, Medicaid or SNAP cuts to pay for tax cuts for billionaires,” Fetterman, who notably backed Republican’s continuing resolution to prevent a government shutdown earlier this year, added.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) echoed the sentiment, calling the resolution a "terrible budget plan."

“Republicans just rammed their terrible budget plan through the Senate,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) wrote Saturday on X. 

“It's never been more clear: they are hell bent on passing a giant tax giveaway for billionaires like Elon Musk at the expense of everybody else," he continued. "We won't stop fighting."

The Maryland Democrat also criticized his Republican counterparts for blocking amendments that sought to protect social programs such as Social Security, Medicaid and school lunches.

"Republicans time and again voted down our amendments to protect the American public," he said in a video alongside the post.

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) came to the same conclusion, condemning the GOP for going after families.

"We tried to make changes to protect Medicaid, Medicare, food assistance, and even prevent higher costs for YOU – Republicans blocked them," she wrote early Saturday on X. “They’ve made their priorities clear: billionaires win, families lose."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) went a step further, pegging the passage as a bended knee to Trump.

“Donald Trump has betrayed the American people. And in voting for this budget bill, Senate Republicans sided with billionaires, against the middle class, in total obeisance to Donald Trump,” Schumer wrote online.

In a subsequent X post, the Democratic leader pointed to the president's latest tariff announcement and experts' warnings of a potential recession in its wake in his argument against Trump's policies.

"The odds of a recession are surging because of Trump’s tariffs. And with the bill [the] Senate GOP just passed, it’s a brutal Republican pincer move against American families: Trump’s tariffs raising costs on one side, and Senate GOP cutting Medicaid and pushing billionaire tax breaks on the other," he wrote.

"They are chaining themselves to the MAGA anchor and leaping into the ocean," he added in a third post — while also denouncing his colleagues votes against Democrats' amendments.

Meanwhile, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) called it a "great night for billionaires — a bad night for everyone else."

Despite the pushback, Republicans in the upper chamber have largely taken a victory lap.

“Tonight, the Senate took one small step toward reconciliation and one giant leap toward making the tax cuts permanent, securing the border, providing much-needed help for the military and finally cutting wasteful Washington spending,” Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-S.C.) wrote in a post online.

“Well done,” he added.

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) also heralded the resolution's passage, showing his support for Trump's legislative priorities.

“President Trump wants to balance the budget and decrease our debt," Cassidy said in a statement. "I agree."

Still, the blueprint needs to be adopted by the House before negotiations can begin on a larger bill. If both chambers agree to a joint budget resolution, it will unlock the reconciliation process and give Republicans the ability to circumvent a potential Democratic filibuster.

Thus far, the House has not shown support.