Senate gives Trump his first major victory with $9 billion spending cut

The Senate passed the budget cuts this morning, sending the legislative package to the House of Representatives for final approval.

The 51-48 vote was a victory for Trump, who has long promised to shrink the size of the federal government.

The vote came after a marathon 12-hour session in the Senate, culminating in the approval of the package.

Though largely symbolic, shaving off just one-tenth of one percent from the federal budget, Republicans hailed the move as a significant step forward.

"It's a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

It's worth noting that Trump failed to push through a similar $15 billion rescissions package during his first term, as Senate Republicans rejected the plan.

This time around, Trump is operating with a stronger Republican majority in the Senate and a party conference that’s more aligned with his agenda than it was seven years ago.

Earlier this month, the Senate narrowly passed Trump's high-profile tax and spending bill by a single vote.

That legislation extends the tax cuts passed in 2017 and includes several of Trump’s key campaign initiatives, such as:

• eliminating the tax on tips;

• reforming social welfare programs;

• boosting defense and border security spending.

The bill also raises the federal debt ceiling by $5 trillion.