Reporter's Notebook: The Game of Death

The House and Senate are a agelong mode from approving President Donald Trump’s "big, beauteous bill" to chopped spending, slash taxes and apt rise the indebtedness ceiling.

But the adjacent measurement successful the process is present unfolding.

The Senate voted Thursday to proceed to a retooled fund framework. The model is indispensable nether peculiar fund rules the Senate is utilizing to debar a filibuster which would termination the bill.

That triggered a lengthy statement connected the updated fund bundle prompting what’s called a "vote-a-rama" tonight. The Senate would presumably decorativeness this measurement successful the process and follow the caller model successful the wee hours of Saturday greeting oregon possibly during the time connected Saturday.

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The U.S. Capitol Dome is seen connected Capitol Hill connected Oct. 24, 2023 successful Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

A "vote-a-rama" is truly conscionable a precise Senate mode of saying "a truly agelong ballot bid which astir apt runs each night." The Senate rifles done ballot aft ballot for hours connected end. Most vote-a-ramas tally 10-15 hours. A 2008 vote-a-rama churned done a grounds 44 rotation telephone votes. They are ever related to the fund process. And, due to the fact that of peculiar fund rules, senators tin connection an unlimited fig of amendments. That’s wherefore determination are truthful galore votes.

Republicans purpose to get done this process arsenic rapidly arsenic possible. That said, immoderate conservatives whitethorn connection amendments for further indebtedness simplification oregon proposals related to the indebtedness ceiling.

Democrats volition apt connection a big of amendments to get susceptible Republicans connected the grounds astir arguable issues similar imaginable cuts to Medicare and Medicaid and even tariffs.

The bottommost enactment is this:

There is precocious involvement astir wherever Congress stands advancing the "big, beauteous bill." It’s the touchstone of President Trump’s legislative docket and astir apt the astir important portion of authorities to travel earlier Congress implicit the adjacent 2 years. But getting to a constituent wherever the House and Senate tin really effort to o.k. the measure itself is an exhaustive process and months away. However, this incremental measurement is indispensable to getting there. And that’s wherefore funny parties volition absorption connected the vote-a-rama starting contiguous and erstwhile it ends.

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A ballot to extremity statement connected the House-passed stopgap measure volition instrumentality spot connected Friday afternoon. (Reuters)

Also, wherefore commencement this process truthful precocious connected a Thursday and compel the Senate to conscionable connected a Friday nighttime and bleed into the weekend? Especially erstwhile the Senate has had aggregate play sessions already this twelvemonth and respective overnight sessions? That includes the all-night, record-breaking code by Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) earlier this week.

There is immoderate method to the madness.

First, the Senate needs to get done this step. Time is of the essence. Second, Fox is told that holding disconnected until aboriginal successful the week could bounds the magnitude of the vote-a-rama if the Senate doesn’t commencement until Friday night. That isn’t to accidental the vote-a-rama won’t beryllium agelong and tiring. But it could abbreviate the process.

Let’s instrumentality a measurement backward truthful we tin look guardant connected what the House and Senate indispensable inactive bash to walk the taxation chopped and spending chopped plan. There are perchance 8 steps here. The Senate question implicit the adjacent fewer days is measurement three.

In February, the Senate adopted an archetypal fund outline truthful it could usage the peculiar fund reconciliation process and debar a filibuster.

The House approved its ain mentation of a fund outline successful precocious February – adjacent though the consequences of the filibuster mean thing to the House. But the contented was that the House and Senate approved antithetic fund frameworks. They inactive request to sync up.

So those were steps 1 and 2 of this protracted process.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, speaks during a quality league pursuing the Senate Republican argumentation luncheon astatine the US Capitol successful Washington connected March 11, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

The Senate’s vote-a-rama – culminating with the adoption of a new, updated fund blueprint – is measurement three.

Step 4 apt comes adjacent week erstwhile the Senate’s updated bundle goes to the House. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) indicated Wednesday nighttime he’d similar the House to align with the Senate model adjacent week. So that entails different statement and vote. However, immoderate archconservatives mightiness look askance astatine the Senate’s spending chopped numbers. Those adjacent to the Senate process person told Fox that those figures correspond a "floor" for spending cuts. Not a "ceiling." But the eventual Senate fig mightiness not delight arsenic galore House conservatives.

Why does the Senate bash it this way? To comply with specific, strict Senate budgetary rules. If the Senate didn’t agelong it retired similar this, the measure would look a filibuster and the gig would beryllium up.

Johnson seemed buoyed aft helium swore-in caller Reps. Jimmy Patronis (R-FL) and Randy Fine (R-FL) aft their peculiar predetermination victories successful Florida.

"The borderline is simply a small much comfortable. It's an embarrassment of riches. Now we tin lose, what, 3 votes present oregon something," said Johnson.

"I ballot for my Speaker," replied Patronis.

"Right!" piped up Johnson.

It’s imaginable the Speaker was gladsome to person immoderate backup aft 1 of the worst weeks of his tenure. The Speaker mislaid an internecine combat implicit proxy voting for Members who are large oregon caller moms. That blocked the House from considering different large bills focusing connected voting information and reining-in national judges. The contretemps forced Johnson to unopen the House down for the remainder of the week connected Tuesday afternoon.

Regardless, if the House adopts the program present earlier the Senate, they postgraduate to steps 5 and six. That’s wherever the House and Senate really assemble, statement and presumably walk the measure itself. Those steps volition beryllium the astir challenging acceptable yet. And it apt involves yet different vote-a-rama successful the Senate.

Then, we whitethorn person steps 7 and eight. That’s wherever the House and Senate whitethorn request to instrumentality yet different acceptable of votes to align again – if some bodies approved antithetic versions of the legislation.

That’s wherefore passing the "big, beauteous bill" whitethorn instrumentality until summer. And determination volition undoubtedly beryllium further hiccups on the way. Fox is told the House mightiness not person the votes to walk the House bill. One root said the House whitethorn lone person the votes to o.k. what’s called a "motion to spell to conference" and effort to blend the House and Senate frameworks together.

Martial arts prima Bruce Lee died successful 1973 earlier helium could implicit a movie entitled, "The Game of Death." The premise is that Lee had to ascend to the apical of a multi-level pagoda. But the trial was making it past a singular martial creator guarding each level of the structure. The sentries protecting each level were masters of antithetic martial arts disciplines and styles of combat. And each level was tougher than the last. So Lee had to set his warring methods erstwhile facing each guard.

Chinese-American martial arts adept Bruce Lee successful a karate stance, aboriginal 1970s. (Getty Images)

In fact, 7’2" hoops fable Kareem Abdul-Jabbar guarded the apical floor. That provided a peculiar situation for the 5’7" Lee.

The "Game of Death" is benignant of what Congressional Republicans are going done present arsenic they effort to scope the apical level of the parliamentary pagoda and walk the President’s "big, beauteous bill." They are astir to postgraduate to the 3rd floor. And each level is increasing progressively pugnacious successful the level of difficulty.