Big, If True: Barrasso Predicts Senate Will Match House Proposed Spending Cuts in Reconciliation Package

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) joined Maria Bartiromo on "Sunday Morning Futures" to discuss the efforts of congressional Republicans to pass President Donald Trump's agenda.

It was a wide-ranging discussion, covering the first (and next) 100 days, Democrats' efforts to thwart the successes of the administration — and Republicans — and tariffs. But the key moments, in my view, came when Bartiromo pressed Barrasso on proposed spending cuts in the reconciliation package.

House Republicans have proposed roughly $1.5 trillion in cuts, and the concern is that Senate Republicans won't be able to meet that. But Barrasso stated affirmatively that he believes they will meet, if not exceed, that level of cuts as they work toward finalizing the reconciliation package.

Today, exclusively on @SundayFutures with @MariaBartiromo, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso @SenJohnBarrasso spoke about Congressional Republicans working to pass President Trump's Agenda.@FoxNews pic.twitter.com/ELk11B1baN
— SundayMorningFutures (@SundayFutures) May 4, 2025

From their exchange:

BARTIROMO: I know you've been working hard on this reconciliation package. Do you feel you have the votes to get it over the finish line in the Senate?
BARRASSO: I'm very confident we'll get there, Maria. Look, these first 100 days with President Trump — you talk about the pace and the progress made — it's been breathtaking. And in terms of securing the border, getting his cabinet in place so quickly, lowering prices for the first time in four years — amazing. But it's not just those first 100 days; the next 100 days are critical because we probably have a shorter period of time than that. We have promised the American people safety and prosperity, and that means a comprehensive economic plan that needs to be passed so we can get to this strong, healthy economy that is growing. So those are the things we want to do: higher wages, lower costs, more jobs here in America — bring them back home. The other reason we have to get this done in a timely manner is that if we don't, the Democrats' $4 trillion tax increase will come into play. We need to stop that. The Democrats are trying to make us fail because they like high taxes, they like big spending government. Look, they're the party of open borders, high prices. We will succeed, we need to succeed. It's so important to put more money back into the American people's pockets.
BARTIROMO: So, Senator, tell us what the issues are. I mean, everything that you just laid out, someone who is not focused on all the details would say, "Well, why wouldn't all of the senators be in favor of that?" The last time you had to do this, back in President Trump's first term, you didn't get this done until December, the end of the year. What are the issues that are holding back some of your colleagues? Is it raising the debt ceiling? Is it SALT? What is it specifically
BARRASSO: Well, specifically, I like to talk about the things we agree on, and we agree on securing the border, we agree on keeping taxes low and getting prices down, and those are the things we agree on. And we have actually done a blueprint —it passed the House, it passed the Senate. So we're on the right path, and you mentioned earlier the numbers: We need 51 votes in the Senate; the House needs 218 votes. As the whip, my job is to make sure that we can get the votes there — that's my focus.

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Bartiromo pressed the senator further on whether he believes they'll be able to make meaningful spending cuts.

BARTIROMO: And some of your members might come back at you and say, "Sure, but this is our one opportunity to actually get spending under control and cut into that $37 trillion in debt." Do you believe that you will be able to match what the House has identified — $1.5 trillion in spending cuts? Because so far, the Senate has come up with, what, three or four billion dollars in spending cuts? So, tell us now definitively: Do you believe you'll be able to match the House's spending cuts?
BARRASSO: Well, I do. And actually, our number is a little higher than that of what we'd like to get to. The American people know the government is too big, it spends too much. They saw this list of things that have come out of the spending under the bloated budgets of the Biden administration for the last four years, that have given us the highest inflation in 40 years. And when people see this list of $20 million for Sesame Street in Iraq or sex change operations uh in Guatemala, people are furious — here in Wyoming and across the country. Yeah, the Democrats are mad, too, not because of the amount of spending but because we exposed the amount of spending that we're done — we need to wipe this out.
BARTIROMO: Right, well, look...you've done a great job. Let's not forget it wasn't just the best 100 days for a president in these last 100 days — it was also a very positive 100 days for you and your colleagues in the Senate, having passed President Trump's cabinet...in record time — congratulations to you on that — as well as passing things like the...Laken Riley Act and the Fentanyl Act. But...I want to get that number — what number do you believe you'll be able to come up with in terms of spending cuts? You just said to me it'll be more than one and a half trillion — what are you thinking?
BARRASSO: Well, that's what we're working on, you know...members of the Senate Finance Committee — we've been meeting since last summer on...coming up with potential reductions in spending by the federal government. Our aim is $2 trillion. I don't know that we're going to get there — we're going to match whatever the House is able to do. We need to get a bill passed the House, passed the Senate, and to the president's desk so we can make a difference in the lives of the American people and get this country back on track and get more money into their pockets.

(emphasis mine).

That bolded bit is key, because if the Senate is genuinely able to match what the House is proposing in terms of spending cuts, then the package is far more likely to pass both chambers, even with those thin margins. And that will be key to implementing the Trump agenda.

We all know politicians sometimes over-promise and under-deliver, but for Barrasso to state confidently that the Senate can and will match the House on cuts is encouraging.