The U.S. House of Representatives is making significant strides in advancing President Donald Trump’s legislative priorities, passing a revised GOP budget plan and the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act on April 10, 2025, in a pair of closely contested votes that underscore the deep partisan divide in Congress. The budget plan, which clears a critical hurdle for Trump’s “big, beautiful” spending agenda, passes with a razor-thin margin of 216 to 214, with only two Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. Meanwhile, the SAVE Act, aimed at tightening voter registration requirements, secures a slightly wider margin of 220 to 208, with four Democrats crossing party lines to support the measure. Both pieces of legislation now head to the Senate, where their fate remains uncertain amid Republican efforts to secure Democratic votes in a chamber where they hold a slim 53-47 majority.
The budget plan, which the Senate adopted last weekend in a 51-48 vote, is a cornerstone of Trump’s domestic agenda, calling for a $5 trillion increase in the debt limit, $4 trillion in tax cuts, and significant boosts to immigration enforcement and defense spending. House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has been instrumental in shepherding the plan through a fractious Republican caucus, is taking a victory lap, declaring at a press conference on April 10, 2025, that “it took a lot of time, but this is what the American people want after electing President Trump.” Johnson’s comments echo Trump’s own endorsement of the blueprint, with the president posting on Truth Social earlier this week that the resolution “implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!” The plan allocates $175 billion for border enforcement and $150 billion for defense spending over the next decade, while aiming for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, a target that some conservative Republicans, including members of the House Freedom Caucus, argue should be the minimum.
The budget’s passage follows months of internal GOP wrangling, with fiscal hawks like Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Rep. Chip Roy of Texas initially holding out for deeper spending reductions. Massie, one of the two Republicans who voted against the plan, has criticized it for adding to the national debt, which currently stands at $36.6 trillion. “We have no plan to balance the budget other than growth, but this proposal makes the deficit worse,” Massie stated on April 9, 2025. The Congressional Budget Office projects that the U.S. may breach the debt limit by August or September 2025 if lawmakers do not act, and the budget’s $5 trillion debt ceiling hike is intended to avert a catastrophic default. However, the plan’s reliance on a controversial “current policy baseline” accounting method, which assumes the 2017 Trump tax cuts are extended at no cost, has drawn sharp criticism from Democrats, who call it “magic math” that masks the true $5.3 trillion cost of the tax cuts.
Democrats are unified in their opposition, arguing that the budget prioritizes tax breaks for the wealthy at the expense of social programs. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, speaking on the House steps on April 9, 2025, warns that the plan “steals taxpayer dollars from Medicaid to give tax breaks to billionaire donors and big corporations.” The budget instructs committees to find $1.5 trillion in cuts, with the House Energy and Commerce Committee tasked with slashing $880 billion, likely targeting Medicaid, and the Agriculture Committee directed to cut $230 billion, potentially affecting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that these cuts could increase health care premiums for 20 million people and exacerbate poverty by reducing food assistance and student loan support. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, speaking on April 10, 2025, slams the GOP’s approach, stating, “Republicans are hell-bent on cutting taxes for billionaires, even if it means kicking millions off their health insurance and driving up child hunger.”
The budget’s passage unlocks the reconciliation process, allowing Republicans to bypass the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold and pass Trump’s agenda with a simple majority. This process, previously used by Republicans in 2017 to pass the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) and by Democrats in 2021 and 2022 for the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, is a critical tool for the GOP’s slim majorities in both chambers. The TCJA, which reduced tax burdens across income levels and spurred capital investment, is set to expire at the end of 2025, and its extension is a key component of the budget. The Tax Foundation estimates that extending the TCJA would decrease federal revenue by $4.5 trillion through 2034, though economic growth could offset $710 billion of that loss. However, the budget’s $4 trillion in additional tax cuts, which include proposals like eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay, and Social Security benefits, could increase the deficit by $2.8 trillion over the next decade, according to Penn Wharton’s budget model.
On the same day, the House passes the SAVE Act, a bill championed by Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, which seeks to ensure that only U.S. citizens vote in federal elections by requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration. The measure, which codifies an executive order signed by Trump earlier in 2025, passes 220 to 208, with four Democrats—Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas—joining Republicans in support. Roy, speaking on the House floor on April 9, 2025, calls it a “common-sense bill” to crack down on voter fraud, arguing that some states issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants awaiting court dates, potentially allowing them to register to vote. Current law already requires voters to swear under penalty of perjury that they are citizens, but the SAVE Act raises the bar by mandating documentation like a passport or birth certificate.
Democrats, however, blast the SAVE Act as a voter suppression tactic. Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland argues on April 10, 2025, that the bill “disenfranchises those who cannot easily access a birth certificate or afford a passport,” which can cost up to $130 for a first-time applicant. The National Conference of State Legislatures notes that 11% of U.S. citizens lack ready access to such documents, often due to socioeconomic barriers. Critics also point out that noncitizen voting in federal elections is already illegal and rare, with a 2014 study by Loyola Law School finding only 30 instances out of 1 billion votes cast in elections from 2000 to 2014. Posts on X reflect a polarized public response, with some users praising the SAVE Act as a necessary safeguard, while others decry it as an unnecessary burden on low-income voters, with one user writing, “This is just another way to keep poor people from voting—passports aren’t cheap!”
The SAVE Act’s passage comes amid heightened GOP focus on election integrity, a priority for Trump since his 2020 election loss, which he falsely claimed was due to widespread fraud. The executive order codified by the SAVE Act, signed in February 2025, directed federal agencies to assist states in verifying voter citizenship, but lacked the teeth of a legislative mandate. The bill now faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where Republicans need at least seven Democratic votes to reach the 60-vote threshold. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, speaking on April 10, 2025, expresses optimism, stating, “We’ll work to build bipartisan support for this critical measure to protect our elections.” However, Schumer signals strong opposition, calling the bill “a solution in search of a problem” that distracts from more pressing issues like economic inequality.
Historically, budget battles and election laws have been contentious in Washington. The 2017 TCJA, passed during Trump’s first term, was a landmark achievement for Republicans but drew criticism for disproportionately benefiting the wealthy, with the top 1% receiving 25% of the tax cuts, according to the Tax Policy Center. On the election front, voter ID laws have been a flashpoint for decades, with Republicans arguing they prevent fraud and Democrats contending they suppress turnout among minorities and low-income groups. The 2013 Supreme Court decision in Shelby County v. Holder, which struck down key provisions of the Voting Rights Act, paved the way for states to enact stricter voting laws, a trend that has accelerated in GOP-led states since 2020.
Breaking news updates indicate that the White House is already moving to capitalize on the budget’s passage. On April 10, 2025, Trump announces plans to meet with Senate Republicans next week to “finalize the one big, beautiful bill” before the August debt ceiling deadline. Meanwhile, the SAVE Act is sparking immediate action, with voting rights groups like the ACLU announcing on April 10 that they are preparing to challenge the bill in court if it becomes law, citing potential violations of the Equal Protection Clause. On the international front, the budget’s focus on immigration enforcement coincides with U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s vow on April 8, 2025, to secure the Panama Canal against China’s influence, reflecting a broader Trump administration strategy to counter global adversaries while tightening domestic borders.
The dual passage of the budget plan and the SAVE Act marks a significant victory for Trump and Johnson, but the road ahead is fraught with challenges. The budget’s spending cuts and deficit increases are likely to face fierce opposition in the Senate, where fiscal hawks like Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky have already signaled skepticism. The SAVE Act, meanwhile, risks becoming a lightning rod in an already polarized debate over voting rights, with potential legal battles looming. As Congress moves into the next phase of Trump’s agenda, the stakes for America’s economic and democratic future have never been higher.
Sources:
- Video: [House Passes GOP Budget Plan]
- Web sources: nytimes.com, npr.org, cbsnews.com, congress.gov, reuters.com, nbcnews.com, waysandmeans.house.gov, bipartisanpolicy.org, cbpp.org, taxfoundation.org, apnews.com, usatoday.com, bbc.com, budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu, profarmer.com, cnn.com
- Posts on X reflecting user sentiment and breaking updates
