Senate Republicans take the lead in the race for reconciliation

Senate Republicans unveiled their proposed reconciliation budget on Friday before the House was able to come to an agreement.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (S.C.) called the budget resolution the "blueprint that unlocks the pathway for a fully paid-for reconciliation bill," addressing the border, the military, energy independence, and fiscal concerns. This budget is intended to serve as a blueprint for the Senate's two-bill approach, while the House is focusing on putting forward one "big beautiful bill."

House Republicans have made their own efforts to chip away at the reconciliation process.

"To those who voted for and support real border security and a stronger defense in a troubled world, help is on the way," Graham said in a statement Friday. "This budget resolution jump-starts a process that will give President Trump's team the money they need to secure the border and deport criminals and make America strong and more energy-independent."

The bill was published just hours before Senate Republicans are set to meet with President Donald Trump for dinner at Mar-a-Lago Friday night. At the same time, House Republicans have made their own efforts to chip away at the reconciliation process.

Top House Republicans huddled in the White House on Thursday for five hours, even postponing Speaker Mike Johnson's scheduled meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The day after, Johnson told reporters that reconciliation talks were still ongoing, even blaming the delays on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).

"It may not be today, but it will be through the weekend," Johnson said. "We got a few more people we got to talk with and a couple more boxes to check. But we are almost there."

As of this writing, House Republicans have not put forward their own budget proposal.

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