House GOP pushes $95 billion Iran war and voting bill plan forward
The 216-214 House vote starts a reconciliation push for Iran war funding, farm aid and pieces of Trump’s SAVE America Act.
By Sal Moretti · Money Reporter
3 min read
The House narrowly approved a Republican budget blueprint Wednesday that could unlock up to $95 billion for the war in Iran, aid to farmers and parts of President Trump’s voting rules package, CBS News reported.
The measure passed 216 to 214, with every Democrat voting no along with two Republicans. The vote gives GOP leaders a first-step win in their effort to move major Trump priorities through Congress after the regular bipartisan spending process stalled.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, described the maneuver as the party’s “best shot” at passing pieces of the SAVE America Act, according to CBS News.
What the plan would fund
The budget resolution does not by itself spend the money. It starts the reconciliation process, directing House committees to write the legislation that would make up the package.
Under the plan reported by CBS News, the House Armed Services Committee would be allowed to draft legislation increasing spending by as much as $60 billion. The House Intelligence Committee would get a $13 billion ceiling.
The House Agriculture Committee would be capped at $12 billion, while the House Administration Committee would receive a $10 billion limit. Together, those instructions form the outline of a $95 billion reconciliation bill.
Republicans are using reconciliation because it can pass the Senate with a simple majority, letting the party bypass Democratic opposition. GOP lawmakers have also used the same procedure for tax cuts and immigration enforcement, CBS News reported.
Voting rules face a Senate test
The plan still has a long road. The Senate must approve the budget resolution before committees can move ahead with the package, and any final bill would also need to pass both chambers.
The voting provisions may face special trouble. CBS News reported that the SAVE America Act has been stalled in the Senate for months and does not appear to have even simple-majority support there.
The bill’s voting measures include requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote and photo identification to cast a ballot, according to CBS News. It is unclear whether those provisions would survive Senate reconciliation rules, which bar non-budgetary policy from being included in such bills.
Funding for the Iran war could also run into resistance. CBS News reported that several Republican senators have voted in recent months to limit Mr. Trump’s actions on Iran as the war continues without congressional authorization.
Conservative concern over the cost
The package also drew frustration from some House conservatives because it does not include spending offsets.
“I think the problem is there’s no plan to pay for it,” Rep. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican, said last week before a House GOP meeting with Vice President JD Vance, according to CBS News. “A no-offset plan is dead on arrival.”
Vance came to the Capitol to press Republicans to support the plan. On Monday, Mr. Trump urged House Republicans on Truth Social to unify behind the budget resolution and “fight” for the SAVE America Act.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought also met with House Republicans on Tuesday morning as the administration worked to secure enough support to pass the resolution, CBS News reported.
This story draws on original reporting from CBS News.