Senate Delays Vote on Reconciliation Package

Sen. Ron Johnson said he and other lawmakers spoke to President Donald Trump about postponing the vote and he agreed.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) speaks during a hearing with Dr. Anthony Fauci, former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, in Washington on July 29, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said on Aug. 7 that the Senate will not vote until September on a $95 billion budget package that includes funding for defense, farm aid, and state voter integrity measures.

The decision came after a two-hour conference meeting between Sens. Johnson, Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on the budget package known as “Reconciliation 3.0.”

Johnson said they spoke to President Donald Trump about postponing the vote, and the president supported the decision. The senator noted that there were concerns about whether they could pass the budget resolution on Aug. 7.

“I think the conclusion of the conference, and then we had a discussion with the president—he agrees: ‘Don’t take the vote tonight, and just work diligently through August and September to do a better reconciliation vote’,” Johnson said of Trump’s response.

This is a developing story that will be updated with additional details.