The House of Representatives adopted a Republican-backed $95 billion budget resolution along party lines on Wednesday, taking a critical step toward passing a reconciliation package that would fund the ongoing Iran war and advance key Trump administration priorities. The budget framework provides instructions for four House committees — Armed Services, Agriculture, Administration, and Intelligence — to draft detailed legislation that GOP leaders hope to finalize when Congress returns from summer recess in September.
The resolution allocates up to $73 billion in defense and intelligence funding for the ongoing military campaign in Iran, $12 billion in farm aid, and $10 billion for election security grants designed to incentivize strict voter identification laws — a priority for President Trump and many Congressional Republicans. House Speaker Mike Johnson framed the package as the best chance to advance the president's agenda through a divided Congress.
House Republicans were divided over the plan, with fiscal conservatives expressing concerns that the package lacks offsetting budget cuts. Despite these internal tensions, leadership pushed the resolution through on a party-line vote. The measure now faces significant skepticism in the Senate, where Republican leaders must build support for the plan that Trump administration officials want cleared before the November midterm elections.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested the budget resolution could serve a dual purpose, saying, "It's a possibility that, if necessary, we could pull that budget resolution passed by the House and use it to fund government," hinting that the filibuster-proof reconciliation process could be used to avoid a government shutdown if ongoing spending talks falter.