John McCain is taking a page from House Republicans and, in about an hour, will be introducing an alternative budget of his own. It's a move that might just rankle Judd Gregg--who, as chairman of the Budget Committee, and the guy who would normally make these decisions, opted not to go that route.

We should have more details once it comes to the floor, but in the mean time, recall that during his presidential campaign, McCain called for a one year non-military discretionary spending freeze. That's in contrast to the House GOP budget which calls for a five year freeze. Economic conditions in the country have gotten worse since the November election, though, and Republican cries for spending cuts have grown louder, so it's possible that he's has doubled down or more on this idea.