WASHINGTON — House Republicans pushed forward a sweeping set of legislative priorities Wednesday, advancing President Donald Trump’s budget framework, new restrictions on how states run elections, and a bill limiting stock trading by members of Congress — all with an eye toward the approaching November midterm elections.
In a series of party-line votes, the House approved the budget outline 216-214. The measure would allow Republicans to use a special procedural tool known as reconciliation to push $95 billion in new government spending through the Senate, bypassing rules that normally give minority Democrats a voice in shaping legislation.
The largest chunk of that money — $60 billion — would go to the Pentagon. This would come on top of roughly $1 trillion already flowing to the military this year, as the United States continues an expensive conflict with Iran.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, a Texas Republican, defended the spending during floor debate, saying the funds would go toward “supporting our troops in their time of need: Just baseline battlefield readiness, bullets and bombs to finish the job and to come home safely and victoriously.”
The top Democrat on the budget panel, Representative Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, urged his colleagues to reject the bill. He argued it would pile nearly $100 billion onto the national deficit at a moment when the country’s total debt is closing in on $40 trillion.
“Nothing to lower gas prices. Nothing to lower food prices… just more spending on the most unpopular war in American history,” Boyle said.
The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget warned that the true cost of the plan would climb to $130 billion once interest payments on the borrowed funds are factored in. The group also noted that lawmakers have repeatedly been told that future legislation would reduce the deficit when approving similar spending measures — a promise that has not been fulfilled.
Beyond military spending, the budget plan also sets aside $12 billion in assistance for farmers who have faced rising fuel and fertilizer costs tied to the expanded tariffs the Trump administration has placed on imported goods.
Separately, the House passed a bill 232-198 that would restrict stock market trading by members of Congress. Watchdog organizations have long argued that lawmakers have an unfair advantage when investing because they have access to sensitive information about their own legislative work.
However, the bill’s path through the Senate remains unclear. Democrats in both chambers had previously pushed for a stricter version of the legislation developed with bipartisan support. As recently as last month, Senate Democrats attempted to change chamber rules to ban stock trades by January 1, 2027 — a move Senate Republicans blocked.
Republicans also attached a controversial election-related provision to the stock trading bill, which analysts say further dims its chances of becoming law.
A December study by Common Cause found that last year, members of Congress from both parties made 13,324 trades with a combined value of $635.6 million.
President Trump has been pressing the Republican-led Congress to pass legislation imposing new requirements on how states manage their elections, including stricter voter ID rules. Democrats have labeled the effort “voter suppression,” arguing it is designed to give Republicans an advantage in the November elections.
All of Wednesday’s votes took place as the 435-member House was on the verge of breaking for a five-week recess, during which most members are expected to return home to campaign for re-election.
