WASHINGTON — House Republicans unified around their budget plan on Tuesday, delivering a significant win to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and President Donald Trump.
The House adopted the resolution by a vote of 217 to 213, with all Democrats and one Republican against.
The budget resolution calls for $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $1.5 trillion in spending cuts. It received criticismfrom far-right lawmakers who said the spending cuts were too small and from moderate Republicans who said they were too big.
At first, it appeared the measure lacked support, as Johnson first delayed the vote and then canceled it altogether, only to reverse courts minutes later and call members back into the Capitol.
Republicans seemed taken aback by voters complaining in town halls last week about the budget’s plans to cut Medicaid spending. Johnson downplayed the Medicaid cuts outlined in the resolution, saying they would only target waste, fraud and abuse.
“We can eliminate all these fraudulent payments and achieve a lot of savings,” Johnson said Tuesday at a press conference.
The budget doesn’t envision enough savings for Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), the one Republican who voted no, pointing to the fact that the resolution would add trillions to the national debt because the tax cuts are bigger than the spending cuts.
“The only way they get to this magic thing where it’s not going to kill our country is five years from now, they imagine that 2.5% growth accumulates,” Massie told reporters before the vote, describing party leaders’ argument that the tax cuts would pay for themselves by stimulating economic growth.
President Donald Trump personally lobbied some of the holdouts with phone calls on Tuesday, including Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), who withheld his vote until it was already clear the House would adopt the measure without him.
The budget lays the procedural groundwork for Republicans to later pass the single “big, beautiful bill” that’s supposed to be the centerpiece of Trump’s second-term agenda, including an extension of temporary tax cuts he enacted in his first term and the savings he’s promised from a more efficient federal government.
Go Ad-Free — And Protect The Free Press
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
Democrats all voted against the budget, denouncing its 11% reduction in Medicaid spending over 10 years and its 20% cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
“Donald Trump, the administration and House Republicans. are hurting the American people. It’s unacceptable, unconscionable, un-American, and we are not going to stand for it one minute,” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said. “The Republican Budget represents the largest Medicaid cut in American history.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.