Senate Republicans move to pass their own budget bill instead of waiting for GOP House

The Republican-controlled Senate is moving forward with its own budget bill instead of waiting for their colleagues in the House, where Capitol Hill spending bills typically begin.

The move was announced Wednesday by Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sen. Lindsay Graham, who said his panel will next week begin to draft – or "mark up" – his own $300 billion budget resolution, which will increase border security and crack down on illegal immigration. 

"This will be the most transformational border security bill in the history of our country," Graham wrote on the social media platform, X. "It's time to act."

The move is also the latest in a standoff between the two GOP-led chambers. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who in roughly the first five weeks of the new Congress continues to wrangle with conservative hardliners and others in his conference to pass a 2025 budget bill, has insisted his chamber go first.

Both chambers are attempting to help President Trump quickly achieve all if not a large part of his first term legislative agenda. 

Graham and Senate Majority Leader John Thune want to hand Trump an early win on the border, defense spending and energy policy. 

Johnson, House Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Jason Smith and Budget Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington want a single reconciliation package that includes all of Trump’s agenda, which would also include tax cuts, because they think . One bill is easier to pass than two, according to Punchbowl News.

Congress has until March 14 to pass a bill before government funding runs out.