Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska warned on Wednesday the budget blueprint that was narrowly passed in the lower chamber on Tuesday could be “devastating” for her state.
Newsweek has reached out to Murkowski’s office via email for comment.
Why It Matters
The budget lays out taxing, spending and other financial initiatives to be taken by the federal government. House and Senate Republicans have been at odds over the fiscal plan for weeks. President Donald Trump strongly urged the GOP to pass a “big, beautiful bill” that would deliver on a number of his campaign promises, and House Republicans took a crucial step by passing their blueprint on Tuesday night.
But Senate Republicans have put forward a competing—and scaled-back version—of the proposal aimed to address certain aspects of Trump’s agenda, like border security, before tacking issues like tax cuts.
What To Know
Hours after the House GOP passed the budget blueprint, which allows lawmakers to start drafting Trump’s sweeping agenda, key Senate Republicans, including Murkowski, warned of the damage the new budget could inflict.
“So we’re getting an update to all of our numbers, but I have shared with colleagues over here that our assessment of it is that the impact, once again, to Alaska, if we see the kinds of cuts that are being floated over on the House right now, could be devastating to Alaska,” Murkowski said, per CNN‘s Manu Raju.
While it’s unclear to which cuts Murkowski was referring, the House bill includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending reductions over the next decade.
Murkowski’s remarks come as Senate Republicans said they’re not prepared to sign off on the bill, and after House Speaker Mike Johnson lauded the spending plan.
“This momentum will grow as we work with our committee chairs and Senate Republicans to determine the best policies within their respective jurisdictions to meet budgetary targets,” Johnson said on Tuesday in a joint statement with other Republican House leaders. “We have full confidence in their ability to chart the best path forward.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune raised concerns, as he called the House blueprint “a first step in what will be a long process and certainly not an easy one.”
When asked if the Senate should adopt the House’s plan, Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana told CNN: “Short answer? Likely no. Long answer? Hell no.” Kennedy emphasized that while the House efforts were commendable, “senators have thoughts of their own.”
GOP Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina struck a more blunt tone, telling reporters before the plan passed the House that it would need a “major overhaul” to get past the Senate.
“The tax cuts are not permanent; they don’t use current policy [budget baseline]. It would be a major overhaul,” he said.
Republican Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina said a faction of House Republicans considers the proposed $2 trillion in spending cuts “non-negotiable.”
“If they want this passed, they’ll need to stick with what we’ve got,” Norman warned. “The House controls the purse strings.”
The push and pull between the two chambers comes as Trump has long said that he will not allow budgetary cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, doubling down on Wednesday by saying Medicaid “will not be touched.”
That could put Republicans in a predicament as they work to figure out how to deliver on Trump’s pledge to eliminate taxes on tips and permanently extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 without cutting critical social programs relied upon by millions of Americans.
What People Are Saying
Democratic Representative Val Hoyle of Oregon said in a news release: “After running on reducing the federal spending and the deficit, House Republicans have put forward a budget busting bill that will take healthcare away from millions of Americans and food away from hungry people—all so they can give massive tax breaks to their billionaire buddies.”
Republican Representative Claudia Tenney of New York wrote on X Tuesday: “@HouseGOP took the first step today toward delivering on our promise to the American people: to craft a fiscally responsible budget that reins in out-of-control spending and lowers costs for hardworking families.”
Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, the only member of his party to oppose the budget plan, told reporters before the vote: “If the Republican plan passes—under the rosiest assumptions which aren’t even true—we’re going to add 328 billion dollars to the deficit this year, we’re going to add 295 billion dollars to the deficit the year after that, 242 billion dollars to the deficit after that, under the rosiest assumptions. Why would I vote for that?”
What Happens Next
The Senate needs to pass its own budget blueprint by a simple majority vote before the House begins crafting legislation.
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