Senate GOP Plows Ahead With Budget Plan After Trump Backs Rival House Version

WASHINGTON—The Republican Conference of the U.S. Senate will proceed with its own budget plan to fund President Donald Trump’s policy initiatives, even after Trump himself rejected the plan on Feb. 19. To fund many of Trump’s administrative and financial plans—such as constructing a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico, removing all illegal immigrants from the United States, and extending provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017—Congress must enact new laws that authorize funding. The regular procedure in the Senate to pass such bills would require 60 votes in favor of invoking “cloture,” so as to limit debate and end any “filibuster” running out of the clock by opponents. Given that Republicans have just 53 seats in the Senate, support of at least seven Democratic senators will be needed to invoke cloture—an unlikely outcome given the partisan nature of ongoing budget fights in Congress....