On July 16, 2026, House Republicans took the first step toward doing it all over again. The House Budget Committee approved a budget resolution on a party-line 20–14 vote — the paperwork that unlocks a third "reconciliation" bill, the special process that lets the majority pass a law with zero votes from the other side.

Reconciliation is how Trump's Medicaid- and SNAP-cutting "big beautiful bill" became law. Now Republicans want to run the same play a third time, and they've said out loud what they want to spend the money on: up to $95 billion. Here's where it would go — and who it leaves out.

Where the $95 billion goes

Under the resolution, the committees writing the coming package could spend:

• Up to $60 billion for the Department of Defense.
• Up to $13 billion through the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
• Up to $12 billion in additional aid to farmers.
• Up to $10 billion through the House Administration Committee — money the reporting says is "likely to create a grant program for states that institute voter identification requirements."

That last one is the tell. Republicans said the package would implement pieces of the voter-ID bill they call the SAVE America Act — and that $10 billion is likely to pay states to adopt voter-ID requirements. Republicans are now trying to bankroll it through the back door of the budget process.

Add it up: more than $70 billion for defense and intelligence, and $10 billion to nudge states toward voter suppression — but nothing in the resolution aimed at the cost of groceries, rent, health care, or child care.

What they said

Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington of Texas was blunt about the ambition. "We are going to use reconciliation to make a run at doing what we think will save this country for our children's future and for the remainder of this century," he said. "I can't think of a more important thing to work on."

The committee's top Democrat, Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle, saw different priorities. "Over the last 18 months, we have seen where Republicans' priorities are: trillions of dollars in tax cuts for billionaires, tens of billions of dollars for war and absolutely nothing for the American people," Boyle said.

Vermont Rep. Becca Balint tried to strip the defense and intelligence spending instructions out of the resolution. Her amendment failed. "They preach fiscal responsibility," Balint said, "and yet, when it comes to approving tens of billions of dollars in additional Pentagon spending, they are a rubber stamp." Michigan Republican Rep. Jack Bergman spoke up to defend the military money, calling it necessary "to support our troops."

Democrats offered more than a dozen amendments to roll back pieces of the earlier Republican bills or change how the new process would work. None of them passed.

Why this matters

It's easy to tune out a committee vote on a "budget resolution." That's exactly why these votes matter. This is the quiet, procedural first step that unlocks the loud, party-line law later. Republicans have already used it twice — the first time to hand billionaires tax cuts and gut Medicaid and food assistance. Now the machinery is turning again.

And this round has a specific target for your right to vote. A $10 billion pot of federal money likely aimed at rewarding states for adopting voter-ID requirements isn't a small line item — it's a national push to make it harder to cast a ballot, paid for out of a bill that needs no Democratic votes. The same process that took away health coverage is now being aimed at the ballot box.

House Republican leaders are expected to bring the resolution to the full floor as soon as next week, before the chamber leaves for a five-week August recess. When they do, every Republican who votes yes is voting to start the next party-line bill — the one that pours tens of billions into the Pentagon and tries to buy states into voter suppression, while offering nothing to the families struggling to afford daily life.

Source

This post is based on reporting by Jennifer Shutt for States Newsroom / Florida Phoenix (photo: Air Force Tech. Sgt. Brittany A. Chase/Department of Defense).