- The resolution, if adopted, seeks to allocate trillions of dollars to extend the tax cuts passed in President Donald Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.
- Trump has endorsed the resolution as a way to move all his agenda priorities through "one big, beautiful bill"
- There are a handful of Republican lawmakers who remain undecided on the package, which would threaten its future when it reaches the floor on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON — The House is scheduled to hold its first vote on a budget bill Tuesday, hoping to greenlight the massive spending resolution and get a much-anticipated start to advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda in Congress.
Voting schedules sent out to lawmakers on Monday afternoon showed the $4.5 trillion spending package to be considered on the House floor at 6 p.m. EST. However, GOP leaders still face an uphill battle to get enough of their members on board and drag the package across the finish line.
The resolution, if passed, would allocate trillions of dollars to extend the tax cuts passed in Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — a proposal approved by most in the GOP conference but met with skepticism by some fiscal hawks. The package has also been met with concerns by some moderate Republicans who worry the spending cuts could slash away at Medicaid and other welfare benefits.
The budget resolution does not approve cuts right away. Rather, it only kick-starts the reconciliation process, which allows the majority party to expedite certain legislation related to taxes, spending, or the debt limit. Once the resolution is adopted by the House, it must then be approved by the Senate before individual committees are given instructions to proceed.
Despite holding majorities in both chambers, that could be easier said than done for Republicans — and GOP leaders are hoping for a miracle to get the resolution through.
House faces math problem
One of the biggest challenges facing House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is the historically slim majority he controls in the lower chamber.
Due to a handful of vacancies in the Republican conference, the current margin in the House is 218-215. That means on any legislation, Republicans can only afford to lose one vote, if there is full attendance. Any more than that, and the bill could fail.
A handful of House Republicans have already threatened to vote against the resolution, citing a variety of reasons and concerns. Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., was among the first to come out as a no over the weekend, demanding deeper spending cuts to be included in the package. Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., also said he is leaning no for the same reason.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has also indicated he is a no, arguing the budget is not enough to reduce the national deficit. Rep. Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, also said he would not support the resolution, criticizing leadership for not doing enough to communicate plans to avoid a government shutdown next month.
On the other hand, a handful of moderate Republicans have expressed concerns the spending cut margins are too high.
Under the resolution, committees are instructed to find at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next decade, with a target set for $2 trillion. That number has made some lawmakers uneasy as some of their hardline colleagues have suggested securing those cuts by paring away at programs such as Medicaid.
Those concerns stem from the budget resolution instructions to the Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in spending cuts. The committee is largely responsible for overseeing Medicaid.
That has raised alarm bells for moderate Republicans in vulnerable districts, with at least eight lawmakers sending a letter to Johnson last week urging him not to touch welfare programs such as Medicaid, SNAP, or Pell Grants.
“While we fully support efforts to rein in wasteful spending and deliver on President Trump’s agenda, it is imperative that we do not slash programs that support American communities across our nation, nor underfund critical programs necessary to secure the border and keep our communities safe,” the lawmakers wrote.
The group of moderate Republicans met with Johnson for a closed-door meeting on Monday evening as the speaker sought to ease their concerns, although the future of the package remained unclear as lawmakers dispersed.
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, who led colleagues on the letter, told the Deseret News that while the meeting was productive, the lawmakers wanted more information about where the spending cuts would be found.
Gonzales said leadership would likely release more information about the resolution before it is brought to the floor, and those details would be crucial to winning their support.
“Depending on how that’s taken and consumed will be [where] various different members land,” Gonzales said.
It’s not entirely clear how many Republicans are currently on the fence regarding the resolution but New York Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, who also signed on to the letter, told reporters there could be anywhere between six and 10.
Democrats on the offense
Meanwhile, Democrats are hoping to use Republicans’ unique math problem against them.
Democrats have zeroed in on concerns surrounding Medicaid and other welfare programs, accusing their Republican colleagues of gutting public assistance to ensure tax cuts for the wealthy.
As a result, Democrats are urging all members to be present for the budget vote on Tuesday, noting it will take “maximum attendance” to tank the resolution.
“Far-right extremists are determined to push through $4.5 trillion of tax breaks for wealthy Republican donors and well-connected corporations, explode the debt and saddle everyday Americans with the bill by ending Medicaid as we know it,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Monday. “We must be at full strength to enhance our opportunity to stop the GOP Tax Scam in its tracks.”
Democrats have made it a priority to attack Republicans on the issue of Medicaid, setting the stage for it to be a major policy issue for the next election cycle. Democratic leaders are also instructing rank-and-file members to gather on the Capitol steps on Tuesday ahead of the resolution vote to protest the spending package.
“At that time, we will make sure that the country can hear from everyday Americans whose lives will be devastated by the Republican budget scheme,” Jeffries wrote.
GOP leaders push back on Medicaid talking points, consider other areas for cuts
Republicans have pushed back on accusations they are seeking to cut Medicaid benefits, arguing no decisions have been made on where spending cuts will be found.
“I just want to be clear, as of right now, there are no cuts to Medicaid,” House GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., said on Monday. “All the budget resolution does is unlock the process to let it go to committees.”
Trump has also vowed not to touch Medicare and Medicaid benefits, pushing Republicans into a corner on how to proceed.
GOP leaders are looking at other areas to find spending cuts and assuage concerns among moderate Republicans who want to be assured their constituents will not be harmed. Those could be found in the energy realm, which could help take care of the $800 billion spending cut requirement for the Energy and Commerce Committee.
Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky., met with some of the moderate holdouts in a meeting Monday night to present alternatives for spending cuts that would “make us feel much more comfortable” with the resolution, Malliotakis said.
However, it’s not clear if Republicans would go so far as to change the actual legislative text of the package. Johnson has signaled they would not do so, noting Medicaid is not specifically targeted in the current language.
“No. Look, everybody needs to understand that the resolution is merely the starting point for the process,” Johnson told Politico on Monday. “So there’s nothing specific about Medicaid in the resolution. The legislation comes later, so this is the important first start.”