Republicans Face Tough Vote On Budget Bill

WASHINGTON (AP) – A hard-won, warts-and-all budget pact between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump is facing a key vote in the GOP-held Senate.  Many conservatives are torn between supporting the president and risking their political brand with an unpopular vote to add $2 trillion or more to the government’s credit card.  The Trump-supported legislation backed by the Democratic speaker would also stave off a government shutdown and protect budget gains for both the Pentagon and popular domestic programs. It’s attached to a must-do measure to lift the so-called debt limit.  For many Republicans it’s a tough vote, scheduled Wednesday afternoon. The tea party-driven House GOP conference broke against it by a 2-1 margin, but pragmatists prefer the measure to a fall landscape of high-wire deadlines and potential chaos.