A main question for Republican senators is whether they can meet or exceed the $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade laid out in the budget blueprint for the Trump agenda that squeaked through the Republican-controlled House of Representatives last month.
"We have a lot of people who would like to go a lot farther, some who would like not to go that far," Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota told reporters.
Hardline House Republicans say they are ready to block any Senate budget blueprint that does not safeguard their spending cuts.
Hanging in the balance is the future of Medicaid, a politically risky source of savings for Republicans that benefits more than 35 million Americans in states Trump won in the 2024 election, a Reuters analysis of Medicaid data shows.