US Senate Republicans look to advance part of Trump agenda this week

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senate Republicans aim to vote this week on their own plan to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda on border security, immigration, fossil fuel production and defense, pushing ahead of a rival Republican blueprint in the House of Representatives.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the chamber’s top Republican, said on Tuesday that it was time to act on a budget resolution that was authored by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham and approved by his panel last week.

“It’s time to act on the decisive mandate the American people gave to President Trump in November,” Thune said in a post on X. “That starts this week with passing Chairman @LindseyGrahamSC’s budget.”

Trump’s agenda calls for trillions of dollars in tax cuts, a surge in fossil fuel production, higher defense spending, tighter border security and the deportation of people living in the United States illegally.

But the two chambers have split over their approaches, with Senate Republicans pursuing a two-step plan intended to give Trump an early win on border, defense and energy issues, while leaving the thornier topic of tax policy for later in the year.

House Republicans, fearing the Senate plan could make tax cuts impossible to pass as standalone legislation, are hoping to unify their notoriously fractious majority behind a blueprint for enacting the entire Trump agenda in one fell swoop, an approach that Trump says he favors.

The House and Senate need to pass the same resolution to unlock a special parliamentary tool that would allow them to pass Trump’s agenda without contending with Democrats or the Senate filibuster.

Despite the appearance of rival plans, Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson insist they are striving toward the same goal. The Senate’s decision to move forward on its own budget blueprint appeared to spur Republicans to unveil their own plan last week and win House Budget Committee approval to move the measure to the floor as early as next week.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Daniel Wallis)