Republicans might skip a budget this year, suggesting entitlement cuts are dead on arrival


Congressional Republicans are considering foregoing a budget this year, in a tacit admission that big party-line legislation may be off the table before the 2018 elections, Politico reports. GOP leaders, including President Trump, discussed the possibility last weekend at Camp David, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reportedly arguing that even if he could find the votes for a budget, he was unlikely to get 51 votes to pass legislation sought by House GOP leaders to cut welfare, Medicare, and other social programs to tackle the federal deficit. Without a budget, the Senate can't use the reconciliation tool to pass legislation with a simple majority.
Scrapping a budget for top-line spending limits "would be an embarrassment for Republicans, who for years railed against Democrats when they avoided one of the most basic responsibilities of Congress," Politico says, but the idea is also infuriating House GOP conservatives, already likely to be on the losing end of current spending negotiations. "It's legislative malpractice to throw reconciliation out the window," Dan Holler, vice president of Heritage Action, told Politico. Until the Senate scraps the filibuster, "the only way we're going to be able to accomplish anything is through reconciliation," said Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.). "We have to use reconciliation."
The Senate is "the problem," said House Budget Committee Chairwoman Diane Black (R-Tenn.). "They don't seem to have the same energy to get this financial situation under control, and that disturbs me, because you need both sides to do it." The House will probably pass an aggressive and partisan budget, which the Senate is very unlikely to adopt, Politico notes, but the efforts of GOP fiscal hawks to tame the deficit is already harder this year thanks to the massive tax bill that nonpartisan congressional scorekeepers say will add more than $1 trillion to the deficit over 10 years.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
5 inexcusably hilarious cartoons about Ghislaine Maxwell angling for a pardon
Cartoons Artists take on the circle of life, Ghislaine's Island, and more
-
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: heavy metal wildman and lovable reality TV dad
In the Spotlight For Osbourne, metal was 'not the music of hell but rather the music of Earth, not a fantasy but a survival guide'
-
Sudoku medium: August 2, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
-
Samsung to make Tesla chips in $16.5B deal
Speed Read Tesla has signed a deal to get its next-generation chips from Samsung
-
FCC greenlights $8B Paramount-Skydance merger
Speed Read The Federal Communications Commission will allow Paramount to merge with the Hollywood studio Skydance
-
Tesla reports plummeting profits
Speed Read The company may soon face more problems with the expiration of federal electric vehicle tax credits
-
Dollar faces historic slump as stocks hit new high
Speed Read While stocks have recovered post-Trump tariffs, the dollar has weakened more than 10% this year
-
Economists fear US inflation data less reliable
speed read The Labor Department is collecting less data for its consumer price index due to staffing shortages
-
Crypto firm Coinbase hacked, faces SEC scrutiny
Speed Read The Securities and Exchange Commission has also been investigating whether Coinbase misstated its user numbers in past disclosures
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress code
speed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
Warren Buffet announces surprise retirement
speed read At the annual meeting of Berkshire Hathaway, the billionaire investor named Vice Chairman Greg Abel his replacement