The Senate will begin a marathon series of votes Friday evening in which Democrats will work to put Republicans on the record about their plans to use the budget reconciliation process to cut climate, energy and other programs.
The so-called vote-a-rama is an important step in those plans and could feature dozens of votes on amendments to the budget resolution that Senate Republicans unveiled Wednesday. The voting will likely stretch into Saturday morning and will culminate in a final vote on the resolution itself.
Big questions remain, however, on whether the House and Senate can sync up on a plan and deliver a tax cut, defense and immigration package to President Donald Trump in the coming months. Many House Republicans are seeking deeper cuts in spending; the House Budget chair this week called the Senate budget plan “wishful thinking.”
Still, the Senate vote will be one of Democrats’ biggest opportunities to attack Republicans for the cuts and policy changes the GOP is hoping to make with their reconciliation bill. The amendments will be nonbinding and largely symbolic, but they will serve as an important messaging tool for the minority as Republicans seek to roll back environmental regulations and repeal clean energy tax credits.
