WASHINGTON — Republican governors nationwide, including Gov. Kay Ivey, are pushing the Senate to unite behind President Donald Trump’s proposed party-line spending bill that covers military funding, farm aid and election overhaul measures.
Senate Republicans have so far been skeptical of a third reconciliation package. Some senators want to see more defense funding included, others favor budget offsets and some worry that the filibuster-proof process, which has strict budget rules, makes success difficult. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has also urged caution about the package’s chances this week.
In a letter to the president on Wednesday, Ivey and 22 other GOP governors called for the Senate to adopt a budget resolution as a “crucial first step” to unlock the reconciliation process whereby Senate Republicans could pass the spending bill without Democratic votes.
White House officials met with Senate Republicans Wednesday to urge them to get on board with the $95 budget framework that would include $60 billion for the Pentagon and $13 billion for intelligence programs in the wake of the Iran war.
“We fully support the Administration’s funding request for the Department of War (DOW) to cover increased operational costs and readiness expenses, while making critical investments in munitions to ensure our military is the strongest in the world,” the governors wrote.
Before the meeting, Trump also urged senators to adopt the budget resolution, the third one this Congress.
“I am calling on the Senate to get this critical first step done before the August recess,” Trump wrote on social media. “This Resolution can be adopted at a simple Majority threshold. GET IT DONE!”
The budget resolution outlines $12 billion to provide relief to farmers and $10 billion to implement key parts of the SAVE America Act, which requires voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections.
“The SAVE America Act includes commonsense measures that are critical for restoring Americans’ trust in our electoral process,” the group wrote. “As governors, we are on the frontlines of the fight to restore confidence in our election process.”
Since the election bill has virtually no chance of receiving 60 votes in the Senate, Republicans are hoping to use the reconciliation process to enact at least parts of it.
But Thune said Republicans currently don’t have the necessary 50 votes to adopt the budget resolution as it stands now.
“The discussion we had was a fulsome one and we’ll continue to listen to our colleagues to figure out what the path forward is,” Thune said during his weekly press conference after the GOP lunch.
Despite Thune’s repeated comments that he doesn’t have the votes to pass the budget resolution or the SAVE America Act, Trump remains adamant that Senate Republicans should take action. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that Thune “should get it done,” referring to the election bill.
The House adopted the $95 billion budget blueprint last week before leaving for its five-week recess. Alabama’s delegation voted along party lines on the resolution.
The Senate has just one more week in session to tackle the budget framework before senators are scheduled to leave Washington for their extended break.
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