What is a vote-a-rama, the Senate GOP’s next hurdle on Trump’s agenda
The Senate is gearing up for an overnight marathon voting session as Republicans look to clear a key hurdle, known as a vote-a-rama, on the path to delivering President Trump a major legislative win in his first year back in office.
The vote-a-rama refers to a blitz of successive votes on amendments to the budget resolution, which top Republicans have indicated will begin Thursday and could last into the wee hours of Friday morning.
Democrats oppose the Senate GOP’s budget resolution, which will pave the way for passing Trump’s agenda on border security, defense and energy, and members of both parties could offer amendments.
The tools being used by the GOP are known as the budget reconciliation process, and they allow the Senate majority to pass legislation that cannot be filibustered.
It’s the same process used by the GOP to pass the Trump tax cuts through the Senate in 2017, and it also was used by Democrats for major legislation under President Biden and President Obama.
So, what happens?
The Senate generally defines vote-a-ramas on its website as “legislation the Senate voted on 15 or more times in one day.”
According to the Senate’s records, there have been more than 60 such sessions since the 1970s, often when lawmakers passed legislation using reconciliation.
The vote-a-rama on Thursday will be the first time this has happened in the newly sworn-in Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-seat majority.
During the session, senators are expected to vote on a list of amendments to the resolution through the night — much of which aren’t expected to pass.
Democrats’ time to shine
While members from both sides can offer amendments, Democrats have the chance to offer legislation that otherwise might not have gotten a vote in the GOP-led Senate.
And that includes potential measures that could be politically tough for their vulnerable colleagues across the aisle.
Democrats have already warned ahead of the voting session that their colleagues will have a long night ahead of them, as the party has sharply criticized plans in the House and Senate to enact Trump’s agenda on taxes, border and defense.
Republicans sought to do the same when Democrats used reconciliation to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s signature economic bill, more than two years ago.
There’s also bad blood as the Trump administration has sidestepped Congress to undertake a sweeping operation aimed at reshaping government that has run afoul of Democrats and been tangled up in the courts.
The series of votes also comes weeks after Senate Democrats stayed in the chamber overnight to protest the nomination of Project 2025 co-author Russell Vought to serve as the White House’s next budget chief.
What comes after?
While the resolution is not signed into law by the president, it does direct various committees to begin work to craft an actual package that Republicans hope to pass in the coming weeks.
The measure seeks to allow upward of $300 billion in new spending to beef up border security and national defense that Republicans hope to offset with other spending cuts in the final package that results from the process.
Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) moved the bill through his panel, but he acknowledged to reporters last week that was the easy part.
“I don't put anything into it,” Graham said when pressed about potential spending cuts that could be featured in the final bill. “I got the easiest job in town. I just fired the gun.”
Committees tasked with finding spending cuts include the agriculture, energy and natural resources, as well as finance panels.
When does the final bill pass?
That’s a good question.
The big problem for the Senate is that the House is moving forward on its process, and there are big differences in the approaches the two chambers, both run by Republicans, are taking.
The House plan would also boost border and defense funds but additionally allow for potentially trillions of dollars in spending reductions and tax cuts. That plan would also raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion as lawmakers face a ticking clock to prevent a national default this year.
Senate Republicans say their plans would allow for a projected $85.5 billion increase in annual spending over four years that will be fully offset, as they focus on prioritizing funds for border wall construction, measures aimed at strengthening the military and boosting immigration enforcement in a slimmer package that would secure earlier wins for Trump.
House Republicans have pushed back on the Senate strategy, arguing a package encompassing more of Trump’s priorities would have better chances in the lower chamber, where the party has a razor-thin majority.
Lending an enormous boost to House Republicans, Trump also announced his support for their plan this week.
But the House GOP conference faces serious challenges in the path forward for its plan and some moderates are already threatening to withhold support amid internal divides over tax and spending — including on potential Medicaid cuts.
House GOP leaders are poised to bring their budget resolution to the floor for a vote next week. If it does pass, it would then fall to the various committees to fill in the details, including where to find as much as $880 billion in Medicaid cuts.
Heading into that process, some centrist Republicans are already signaling they'll support the broad budget blueprint next week, to give GOP leaders a win, while warning they'll oppose a final package if the specific spending cuts will harm their constituents.
In the meantime, passage of the House budget bill would also set up a negotiation with the Senate over which of the competing plans — one bill or two — to advance as a legislative package.
The House one-bill blueprint almost certainly would be the favored vehicle for a budget reconciliation bill, given Trump’s support, if the House can get the blueprint passed.
If the House can’t pass a budget resolution, it could put the ball more in the Senate’s court. That would set up the two-bill process the Senate prefers.
Senate Republicans have ambitious hopes to move through their eventual border and defense reconciliation package before the March 14 government shutdown deadline.
They also want to move on a tax package later in the year, but top Senate Republicans have warned they won’t back tax legislation that doesn’t include permanent extensions to Trump’s 2017 tax cuts — laying the groundwork for a potentially messy clash with the House when it comes time for them to work out a compromise tax package that can pass both chambers later this year.
Topics
-
Capitol agenda: The Senate vote-a-rama is on
Politico - 1d -
Senate GOP to vote on its plan for Trump's agenda despite Trump backing House plan
Senate Republicans plowing ahead with their efforts to advance the first stage of their two-part package to pay for Trump's agenda despite Trump backing the House’s plan.ABC News - 19h -
Senate adopts $340 billion budget blueprint for Trump's agenda after marathon 'vote-a-rama'
The Republican-controlled Senate on Friday morning adopted a $340 billion budget blueprint designed to boost funding for President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement efforts, energy production ...NBC News - 7h -
Senate adopts GOP budget plan in "vote-a-rama," despite Trump backing competing House plan
The Senate has adopted a slimmed-down GOP budget proposal focusing on defense, border security, and energy priorities, despite President Trump's earlier backing of a competing plan put forward by ...CBS News - 5h -
Details on Senate-passed GOP budget plan after "vote-a-rama"
Senate Republicans have passed a budget resolution after pulling an all-nighter through a process known as "vote-a-rama." The passage comes despite President Trump's earlier backing of a competing ...CBS News - 3h -
Capitol agenda: What you missed in the overnight vote-a-rama
Politico - 7h -
Trump stuns Senate GOP with House budget endorsement
“Did not see that one coming,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.Politico - 2d -
Capitol agenda: GOP starts to balk at Musk cuts
Politico - 3d -
Senate tees up ‘vote-a-rama’ on budget for party-line package
Politico - 2d -
Senate adopts budget resolution after marathon overnight vote-a-rama
The Senate on Friday adopted a budget resolution intended to serve as a blueprint to deliver the first part of President Trump’s agenda. Senators voted 52-48 along party lines on the resolution ...The Hill - 9h
More from The Hill
-
Live updates: Kari Lake takes aim at media during CPAC
National security adviser Mike Waltz is set to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday, amid backlash over President Trump's approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine ...The Hill - 35m -
Move over H5N1: The next pandemic is already here
The widespread use of antibiotics in industrial animal agriculture is contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance, with over 35,000 Americans expected to die this year from a preventable ...The Hill - 43m -
Consumer confidence dips in Trump's first month as tariff threats drive inflation fears
Consumers’ attitude toward the economy dipped during President Trump’s first month in office, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly consumer survey, released Friday. Consumer sentiment ...The Hill - 50m -
Eric Adams's trial adjourned indefinitely as judge weighs dropping charges
The federal judge overseeing New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s (D) criminal case indefinitely delayed his April trial as he considers a controversial effort by President Trump’s Justice Department ...The Hill - 1h -
Nixon didn’t break the Constitution. Will Trump?
2025 obviously is different from 1973.The Hill - 1h
More in Politics
-
Live updates: Kari Lake takes aim at media during CPAC
National security adviser Mike Waltz is set to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) on Friday, amid backlash over President Trump's approach to ending the Russia-Ukraine ...The Hill - 35m -
Move over H5N1: The next pandemic is already here
The widespread use of antibiotics in industrial animal agriculture is contributing to the rise of antibiotic resistance, with over 35,000 Americans expected to die this year from a preventable ...The Hill - 43m -
Consumer confidence dips in Trump's first month as tariff threats drive inflation fears
Consumers’ attitude toward the economy dipped during President Trump’s first month in office, according to the University of Michigan’s monthly consumer survey, released Friday. Consumer sentiment ...The Hill - 50m -
Eric Adams's trial adjourned indefinitely as judge weighs dropping charges
The federal judge overseeing New York City Mayor Eric Adams’s (D) criminal case indefinitely delayed his April trial as he considers a controversial effort by President Trump’s Justice Department ...The Hill - 1h -
Nixon didn’t break the Constitution. Will Trump?
2025 obviously is different from 1973.The Hill - 1h