The House on Thursday is poised to approve Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget measure, which would give Republicans a much-needed lift after months of intra-party squabbling.
Ryan's blueprint — which cuts $5.3 trillion in spending compared to President Obama's budget proposal — has been gaining traction among Republicans in recent days. Yet, conservative deficit hawks have called for deeper cuts, while some GOP appropriators have grumbled about the spending caps in the budget resolution.
Passage would allow Republicans to unify around a major issue — reducing the deficit — after being fractured on how to handle the debt ceiling and the payroll tax bill late last year, and how to move a long-term highway bill, an issue they have not yet resolved. These divides have led to a resurgence of charges that Republicans can't govern, muddying their message of smaller government and economic prosperity that they hope to carry into the November elections.