The Senate on Monday voted to give Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., sole authority in determining whether provisions of the tax cut and spending megabill violate the 1974 Congressional Budget Act or other budget laws.
A 53-47 vote along party lines supported a ruling that Graham, as Budget chair, has final say on the matter.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., who was presiding over the upper chamber at the time, ruled that the chair will not sustain any budgetary points of order against President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill unless Graham says they are valid objections.
Hagerty said the chair "must rely on determinations made by the Budget Committee in assessing the budgetary effects" of the 940-page Senate bill.
Graham said a "current policy" baseline shows that extending the 2017 tax cuts, which the bill dictates, will not add to future deficits.
Graham told colleagues his exercise of power over the legislation was justified by Section 312 of the Congressional Budget Act.
"I've never felt better. I've been wanting to do this for, like, a long time," Graham said, Politico reported.
Budget Committee Ranking Member Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., immediately appealed Hagerty's ruling by pointing to a letter received from Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel, who claimed the Finance Committee portion of the bill would increase federal deficit by $3.5 trillion between 2025-34 and increase deficits beyond the 10-year budget window, which ends in 2034, The Hill reported.
"The ability of the chair to create a phony baseline has never been used in reconciliation, not ever," Merkley said. "This breaks a 51-year tradition of the Senate for honest numbers."
Merkley's motion led to the Senate vote.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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