Sen. Eric Schmitt said Sunday that Senate Republicans are committed to refining President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill," expressing confidence the chamber will deepen spending cuts and uphold key tax and border security priorities.
The Missouri Republican said the Senate will work to "make [President Trump's] big, beautiful bill even more beautiful" as lawmakers take up the budget package that recently passed the House.
Schmitt, speaking on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures," praised the House-passed bill as a significant victory for Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson and said Senate Republicans are unified in their commitment to the president's legislative agenda.
"First of all, I want to acknowledge it's a big win for President Trump. It's a big win for Speaker Johnson," Schmitt said. "There's a lot of work that went into what the House did, and now it does come over to the Senate. I think we're all pretty committed and unified on this idea of actually delivering on President Trump's campaign promises."
The House version of the bill includes provisions to extend the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which the administration says will provide up to $5,000 in annual savings for middle-class families. It also contains funding to bolster border enforcement efforts, including expedited deportations and increases to national defense spending.
Schmitt signaled that while the Senate supports the framework, lawmakers are also exploring ways to increase savings beyond the $1.6 trillion in cuts proposed in the House bill.
"I do think the Senate is going to try to look and see if we can find some more savings," he said. "We've been having these discussions for a long time. The ball is literally in our court now. We'll be able to do that and see if we can't make this big, beautiful bill even more beautiful."
Pressed on the bill's estimated $4 trillion in new costs related to tax changes — including eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay — Schmitt expressed confidence that economic growth will help offset the price tag.
"I do [believe that]," Schmitt said. "There's critical mass, and I ultimately think the Senate is going to come together after we sort of work through this to find some more savings, but also make sure that we've got the no tax on tips, we've got the no tax on overtime — all those things that President Trump ran on and received that historic mandate from the American people."
Schmitt also emphasized the Republican advantage in the Senate, where the party holds the majority and needs only 51 votes to pass the measure.
"We don't need any votes from Democrats. We don't expect that they're going to suddenly come to their senses and vote for this kind of policy," he said. "So we've got some work to do, but we feel pretty positive about it."
"The extension of the 2017 tax cuts effectively makes it so Americans do not get a tax hike," Schmitt said. "And that is really important to working-class Americans."
Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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