Although Congress took "a huge step forward" in passing the budget reconciliation package this week, Sen. Tommy Tuberville told Newsmax on Friday that "a lot of work" remains to be done.
"Now we'll try to put it all together," the Alabama Republican said on "Newsline." "We'll work together. We do need to get cuts in this bill. We cannot continue to spend money like we've been spending. President Trump is trying to get manufacturing back to the country. That'll help, but we also have got to cut the spending to get our debt down. So, we're glad to see that work."
He added, "It's going to be a lot of work left to be done. It's going to be hard to get it through the Senate. We've got a lot of people over there that just love to spend money. But, at the end of the day, 77 million people said cut the budget, cut the spending. Let's get back to realization and get this debt down."
In a surprising political turnaround, House Republicans narrowly passed their budget framework Thursday, with Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana working through the night to satisfy conservative holdouts who had refused to approve trillions in tax breaks without a commitment to more severe spending cuts.
The final vote that pushed the bill over the finish line was 216-214. The House advancement was a critical next step in a lengthy budget process that promises weeks if not months of work, with several more votes in Congress to get to a final product.
Tuberville confessed that he wasn't optimistic that the House would pass the legislation this week.
"I didn't really have faith that it would get passed, especially this quick," he said. "I thought it would be a week or two, but they've got it done. Now it'll come back to us. Leader Thune promised cuts in the Senate version."
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., reportedly tried to reassure House conservatives that many Republican senators share their concerns about spending cuts.
"We certainly are going to do everything we can," Thune said.
After meeting with a group of conservative House Republicans on Wednesday, Thune said Senate GOP leaders tried to dispel their trepidation by expressing a desire to collaborate.
"All we can do is make sure that they understand where we're coming from and how close we want to work with them to get to the final product," Thune said.
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