The House of Representatives has adopted a resolution that will eventually become a massive multi-trillion-dollar bill full of President Donald Trump’s priorities on the border, defense, energy, and taxes.
The resolution was passed by a vote of 217-215, a significant victory for the House GOP leadership.
Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a Republican rebel who is concerned with the effect of the measure on the deficit, was the only Republican to vote against it.
Next, the House Committees will meet to develop their ideas. These proposals will be incorporated into the overall framework for negotiation and eventually, a deal reached with the Senate.
On Monday evening, it was an exciting scene as Republican leaders waited for 45 minutes to officially end a vote to persuade conservative fiscal hawks that they should support the bill.
As Republicans were huddling in different groups, impatient Democrats shouted for the voting to end.
Two people who were present on the House Floor said President Donald Trump spoke to Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) by phone at some point.
Reps. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), could also be seen talking on their phones at various points in the House, although it is not known if they were talking to Trump.
The House GOP leadership appeared to have lost confidence at one point and abruptly canceled the scheduled vote. However, the vote was to be conducted a few moments later.
Three House Democrats, who were absent earlier in the day for the vote on Tuesday night, returned in dramatic style.
Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), who gave birth to her baby about a month earlier, returned with the infant to the House to voice opposition to the bill. Rep. Kevin Mullin (R-Calif.), who had been hospitalized recently for an infection appeared with a walker in the House chamber.
The House and Senate Republicans want to leverage their majority to push Trump’s agenda through the budget reconciliation.
This is a Senate move that reduces the two-thirds threshold to a simple majoritarian majority. It’s often used by a party that controls both the Houses of Congress and the White House, as it allows them to achieve their policy goals with the smallest margins. The Republicans have very slim margins. With the current numbers, they can only afford one defector to get anything passed without Democratic votes.
The Republicans in the Senate can only lose two members of their party during the reconciliation process.
House Resolution aimed at increasing spending for border security, judiciary, and defense by approximately $300 billion while seeking to cut spending elsewhere between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion.
The House bill, as written, also provides $4.5 trillion for President Donald Trump to extend his 2017 tax cuts and Jobs Act provisions that expire this year.
The House Budget Committee chairman Jodey Arntin, R-Texas, and the conservatives in his panel have negotiated an amendment that would force legislators to cut $2 trillion or risk having the $4.5 trillion Trump tax cut reduced.
This resolution was also under Trump’s order to raise the debt ceiling by approximately two years or $4 trillion.
In 2023, a bipartisan agreement was reached that suspended the debt ceiling until January 2025. Projections show that the U.S. may run out of money to pay off its debts in the spring if Congress doesn’t act.
Since Monday, when the House returned from its week-long break, it was difficult to predict how this resolution would fare.
Many fiscal conservatives demanded that the leadership of the House GOP give more assurances about their willingness to seek significant spending reductions to cover Trump’s agenda. Republicans in districts with more competition are worried that some cuts could be too extreme.
House Energy & Commerce Committee is directed to cut spending by at least $880 Billion, which lawmakers believe will result in severe cuts to federal programs such as Medicaid.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) defended himself against such fears during his press conference. “Medicaid has many problems because of the fraud, abuse, and waste that it contains, and everyone knows it, and no one here could disagree”. We’re looking to root out fraud, abuse, and waste. No matter which party you belong to, you must support this because it will save you money and preserve the programs for those who need them.
The bill was supported by many Republicans including Brandon Gill (R-Texas), a conservative member of the House Budget Committee who approved it earlier in the month.
Gill praised Committee Chair Jodey Arrington for his work, saying, “It is the best we can get.” If I was writing the bill, I would have written it differently. But this is what we are going to get.
Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Iowa) said he is eager to start working “on cutting taxes for Iowans and securing the border. He also wants to unleash American energy production and eliminate waste and fraud within our government.”