Syedah Asghar

Despite the successful vote, the preceding debate revealed intra-party divisions over key issues like Medicaid, tax-cut strategy and the debt, which complicate the task ahead.

WASHINGTON — Senate Republicans managed to proceed to debate their massive budget plan Thursday night, but not before an unexpected delay caused by some of their own who have concerns about their strategy on tax cuts and potential cuts to Medicaid.

The initiative backed by Rep. Anna Paulina Luna and publicly opposed by Speaker Mike Johnson has split House Republicans and brought floor proceedings to a halt this week.

The Republican-led Senate voted 52-48 on Thursday to begin debate on a budget blueprint for a multitrillion-dollar package to pass President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Sen. Cory Booker ended a record held by the segregationist Strom Thurmond, garnering widespread acclaim from Democrats as a model for how to take on Trump.

The Democratic senator from New Jersey broke the record set by segregationist Strom Thurmond in 1957, saying later that Thurmond’s record “always kind of just really irked me.”

Senate Republicans are warming up to the idea of including a debt ceiling increase in their big party-line bill to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Johnson has backed a bill to bar district judges from issuing nationwide injunctions, an alternative to House Republicans' taking politically perilous impeachment votes.

Trump signed an executive order directing Education Secretary Linda McMahon to dismantle the department. Complete elimination would require congressional approval.

The base’s frustration with the party has mounted following the government funding fight, as Democratic lawmakers seek distance from Chuck Schumer.

The Democratic leaders in the Senate and House sought to strike a unified message on potential GOP cuts to Medicaid, even as they defended their government funding strategies.