WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Senate voted 53-46 on June 3 to bring the FY2027 budget reconciliation bill, known as reconciliation 2.0, to the chamber floor for debate. This vote followed a Senate Parliamentarian ruling that found provisions related to White House ballroom funding did not comply with the Byrd Rule.
Disagreements over funding for a proposed anti-weaponization fund also contributed to delays in the legislation's progress. The proposed fund would allocate $1.8 billion to compensate individuals claiming unfair investigation or prosecution by the Justice Department during the Biden administration, including January 6 defendants. No draft of the budget reconciliation legislation has included funding for this anti-weaponization fund.
On May 4, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs released a proposed budget reconciliation spending package. The Congressional Budget Office stated this proposed package would increase the federal deficit by $72 billion over a ten-year period. The package allocated specific funding amounts, including $38.2 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, between $22 billion and $26 billion for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, $5 billion for the Department of Homeland Security, $1.5 billion for the Justice Department, and $1 billion for the Secret Service.
Chair of the House Budget Committee Jodey Arrington said, "Reconciliation 2.0 is the most powerful and potent legislative tool in the toolbox for us to fix what's broken, to clean up this mess, and to give our fellow Americans a safer, stronger, more prosperous and more affordable country." Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said, "Republicans are on a different planet than American families. Republicans looked at families drowning in bills and decided what they really needed was more raids and a Trump ballroom."
The Senate vote occurred two days after a deadline set by President Trump for lawmakers to deliver the bill to his desk. President Trump signed a prior reconciliation bill, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in 2025. Budget reconciliation debate is limited in the Senate to prevent filibusters. Amendments and points of order seeking the removal of provisions can be raised under the Byrd Rule during and after debate. To complete the process, both the House and Senate must pass identical reconciliation packages by a simple majority. After passing both chambers, a budget reconciliation bill is sent to the president to be signed or vetoed. The Senate Parliamentarian has advised that reconciliation may be conducted more than once in a fiscal year if Congress passes a revised budget resolution due to changed economic conditions or an emergency.