Let’s be honest here: we have a long way to go. The budget reconciliation process, including provisions for no tax on tip, border security, extending the Trump tax cuts, etc., will take weeks, with many avenues for legislative derailment. The Senate version is different, filled with Ukraine nonsense. The blueprints are set, but the House looked like it was veering toward delivering a body blow for the Trump White House.
TRUMP NEWS COMMUNITY: Speaker Johnson Locks Down Votes for Trump’s Tip, Overtime, Social Security Tax-Free America
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) February 26, 2025
In a stunning display of GOP unity, Speaker Mike Johnson announced today he’s got the votes to ram through the budget resolution, delivering on President Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/qhhQQMf13W
Speaker Johnson says he has votes to pass Republican budget resolution — Fox News
— NewsWire (@NewsWire_US) February 26, 2025
Given the slim majority, there virtually couldn’t be any more defections since Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) announced his opposition. Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) were neither keen on this proposal. It led to the vote being pulled and later put back on the docket within minutes. Speaker Mike Johnson said definitively he had the votes, and he did. Spartz and Burchett flipped (via Fox News):
🚨BURCHETT VOTED YES.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 26, 2025
Every single Republican with doubts folded -- besides Massie.
Massive win for Johnson. https://t.co/l1QUsYy3BD
SPARTZ has voted yes.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 26, 2025
Tennessee Rep. TIM BURCHETT has not voted yet. https://t.co/zHormx0zaN
in my 15+ years covering congress, i've never seen the leadership cancel a vote, send lawmakers home and then abruptly switch course and put the vote up. all within the course of about 10 minutes.
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) February 26, 2025
House Republicans' mammoth budget resolution survived its final hurdle late Monday night before heading for a chamber-wide vote.
The legislation passed the House Rules Committee on a party-line vote in a measure combining several bills that are expected to get a full House vote this week.
House GOP leaders aim to have it pass on Tuesday evening, Fox News Digital was told, but various concerns about spending cut levels could put that goal out of reach. Under the current margins, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., can only lose one Republican vote to pass a bill without Democrats.
And that’s how it ended, on a 217-213 vote.
🚨 HOUSE PASSES GOP BUDGET RESOLUTION 🚨
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 26, 2025
President Trump’s budget just passed the House with its $4.5 trillion in tax cuts.
— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) February 26, 2025
It includes Trump’s NO TAX ON TIPS that he promised while campaigning.
The budget will now go to his desk for signature.
YUUUGE win for the future of the American people.pic.twitter.com/O3Bpovgjwv
Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) also opposed the legislation, but there were some phone calls from the Trump White House during the chaotic few minutes in the House leading up to the vote. In the end, Davidson also voted 'yes' (via Politico):
House Republicans approved a budget framework for President Donald Trump’s sweeping domestic policy agenda Tuesday — a major victory for Speaker Mike Johnson who worked with Trump and fellow leaders in a chaotic last-ditch effort to win over naysayers within the GOP ranks.
The vote went almost entirely along party lines, 217-213, with every Democrat voting against the measure and only GOP Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky joining them. Adopting the budget measure is a key step toward passing the “big, beautiful bill” that Trump and Johnson have called for — one that includes border security, tax and energy provisions that the president campaigned on.
The Senate passed a competing plan last week, and the Republicans in the two chambers must now reconcile the significant differences between the two fiscal blueprints.
[…]
Given the House GOP’s tiny majority, and the united opposition of Democrats, those four hard-right holdouts could together block action.
But Johnson deployed a highly targeted whip operation to court the hard-liners. He facilitated a call between Trump and Burchett and held an extended conversation with Davidson and Massie.
There are some concerns about cuts to Medicaid, though Trump said he will never sign a bill with those reductions. Again, there is a long way to go, but for now, what a budget stunner for Johnson and the House GOP.
The first obstacle has been scaled.
***
UPDATE:
👀 Speaker Johnson tells @kaitlancollins on CNN tonight that Medicaid per capita caps are "off the table" and that they are not going to lower the FMAP (federal share of costs)
— Peter Sullivan (@PeterSullivan4) February 27, 2025
"The FMAPs, we're not going to cut into those programs that way."
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