On Saturday, April 5, Senate Republicans advanced their budgetary framework through the fiscal 2025 budget resolution process by a 51-48 vote. The budget was largely supported by Republicans, with only two GOP Senators voting against it, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky. The budget framework includes a $5 trillion debt ceiling increase while keeping the House’s $1.5 trillion floor for its committees to cut spending. This budget advances initiatives on tax and spending cuts while rejecting Democrats amendments on tariffs, USDA payments, rural infrastructure and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The Senate’s budget instructions direct the Agriculture Committee to make no less than $1 billion in cuts, while the House’s original proposal directs at least $230 billion in cuts. While Sen. Ben Ray Lujan did raise an amendment to strike instructions to the House Agriculture Committee's for $230 million in cuts, the amendment failed 47-51. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has indicated that he wants to bring the House’s budget resolution to the floor as early as this week, although during the work period after the Easter/Passover recess seems more likely. Though the House and Senate Agriculture Committees are far apart numerically on directed cuts to agriculture spending, GOP committee members in both chambers are expected to cut funding from Title IV (Nutrition) while also trying to find offsets to strengthen the Title I (Commodities) farm safety net.

On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) backed down from his initial hardline stance and committed to voting in favor of the stopgap in order to avoid a government shutdown. Running up against the March 14 midnight deadline, the Senate passed the House GOP-backed CR, sending the measure to the President’s desk on Friday evening. Ten Senate Democrats joined Republicans to invoke cloture on the seven-month stopgap, advancing the measure by a 62-38 vote. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the only Republican to vote no. After dispensing several amendments, the upper chamber passed the bill with a 54-46 vote, with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Angus King (I-ME) joining Republicans in voting yes.

View the contents of the Full-Year Continuing Appropriation and Extensions Act of 2025 here.