Senate kicks off all-night ‘vote-a-rama’ as Democrats plan to press GOP on Trump, DOGE

The Senate kicked off a marathon vote series on Friday night, which Republicans need to get through in order to approve their changes to the House’s plan for President Donald Trump’s budget. 

“Very soon, the Senate is going to be voting on a budget resolution that essentially accomplishes five objectives – but at least four. And one is to prevent a $4 trillion tax increase on the American people at the end of the year, number one,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said in a Senate floor speech before voting kicked off.

“Number two, it rebuilds our military by investing in our military readiness in a way that will enable us to deal with and deter the threats that America deals with in a very dangerous world. It will restore energy dominance for this, for our country, making energy more affordable to the American people.

“Obviously securing the border – and there are resources in there to make sure that over the course of the next four years of this administration, that they have what they need to ensure that our border is secure and that the American people are safe.”

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The final point, Thune said, was “reducing spending.”

The seemingly endless amendment votes began after nearly a day of debate concluded. Republicans passed a key motion on Thursday to begin the process, which will end with a vote on their adjustments to the House GOP’s budget. 

During the “vote-a-rama,” senators of both parties are able to introduce an unlimited number of amendments, and many are expected to get floor votes. Democrats are planning to use the marathon of votes as an opportunity to force Republicans to go on record on Trump’s tariffs and the actions of the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). 

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On Thursday, the Senate agreed on a motion to proceed by a vote of 52 to 48, along party lines. 

The only exception was Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who voted against it. He has notably criticized the budget amendment’s provision on the debt ceiling, which would raise it by up to $5 trillion. 

During the last such series in February, the Senate voted for about 10 hours, into the early morning. The budget they passed was the Senate GOP’s preferred strategy of having two budget reconciliation resolutions for the border and extending Trump’s tax cuts. 

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But the House’s plan to address both in one bill ultimately won out after getting Trump’s blessing. 

It’s unclear how long the voting will last, as it depends on how many amendments get votes and when Democrat and Republican leadership in the Senate come to a time agreement. 

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When the voting series ends, a final vote will take place to approve the Senate amendment to the House’s budget. If this passes, it will still need to return to the lower chamber before taking effect. 

In addition to raising the debt ceiling, and in doing so taking leverage away from the Senate Democrats, the Senate budget amendment makes Trump’s tax cuts permanent by what’s known as a current policy baseline, determined by Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report