House aims to vote on budget resolution to unlock Trump agenda in key test for Johnson

Washington — The House is aiming to vote Tuesday on a budget proposal that would enact trillions of dollars in spending reductions and tax cuts key to President Trump’s agenda. But the timing and outcome remained unclear after Speaker Mike Johnson met with his conference in the morning, with handful of members expressing their opposition. 

The House Rules Committee advanced the measure Monday night and Johnson had hoped to bring it to the floor Tuesday. But it did not appear that Johnson had won over every Republican he needs to pass the measure after the House Republican Conference met Tuesday morning. Still, Johnson said the House would move forward. 

“We’re planning to take up our budget resolution as early as today,” Johnson said at a news conference following the GOP meeting. 

“There may be a vote tonight, there may not be,” he said later.

Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has been racing to move forward with the budget resolution, a crucial step in the budget reconciliation process that Republicans plan to use to enact Mr. Trump’s priorities on border security, energy and taxes. After delays due to House Republican infighting, Senate Republicans moved forward with a competing plan earlier this month. But Johnson won a key victory last week when Mr. Trump endorsed his chamber’s budget outline.  

Still, whether Johnson and his leadership team can rally House Republicans around the budget plan is an open question. And Johnson acknowledged that the math may not be in his favor just yet. 

“There’s always more work to do right up to the end for a big vote like this and this is a big one,” Johnson said. “We’re very, very close.”

With a 218-215 majority, Johnson can afford to lose just one vote if all members are present and voting. He told reporters Monday that he had spoken with one holdout, Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, and had left a voicemail for another, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky.

But that evening, Massie posted on X, “If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better.” Elon Musk replied, “That sounds bad.” Then, Spartz, who has already pledged to oppose the budget bill, answered Massie, writing: “The situation is much worse than it sounds @RepThomasMassie and @elonmusk – we are going to accumulate $24T of additional debt on top of $36T we already have … reaching $60 TRILLION!”

Additionally, Rep. Tim Burchett also told reporters Monday night he’s a no “right now” on the budget resolution, and indicated spending remains his big concern. After the Republican conference met Tuesday morning, the Tennessee Republican said he was still a no.

House Democrats widely oppose the measure, and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote a letter to his caucus on Monday telling them “it’s imperative that we are present with maximum attendance.” Jeffries, a New York Democrat, instructed lawmakers to appear on the Capitol steps Tuesday afternoon to demonstrate their opposition to what he called a “budget scheme that betrays hardworking American families.”

The House GOP budget plan includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts while raising the debt ceiling by $4 trillion. If House committees don’t achieve at least $2 trillion in spending cuts, then tax cuts would be scaled back in an amendment to the resolution that was made to appease conservatives. 

The resolution tasks relevant committees with finding billions of dollars in cuts, some of which could target Medicaid, which has prompted concern among some Republicans, especially in swing districts.

GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, was among the Republicans worried about Medicaid cuts, but she met with Johnson Monday and said he assured her that Medicaid recipients would not removed from the rolls “unless they are not fulfilling the work requirements, and they’re not citizens.”

House Republican leadership refuted the Medicaid concerns on Tuesday, arguing that the GOP shouldn’t believe what they say is a Democratic talking point. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer urged that the budget resolution “merely unlocks the opportunity for committees to begin drafting legislation,” calling it a “blueprint to save America.” And House Majority Leader Steve Scalise stressed that Medicaid isn’t specifically mentioned in the budget resolution, noting that the vote is simply one to begin the reconciliation process. 

Still, Johnson wouldn’t commit to preserving Medicaid in its entirety as the reconciliation process continues. 

“Medicaid is hugely problematic because it has a lot of fraud, waste and abuse,” Johnson said, when asked whether there could be cuts to the program down the line. “What we’re talking about is rooting out the fraud, waste and abuse.”

The developments come after the Senate adopted its budget late last week, while the House was away on recess. Since Mr. Trump’s endorsement of the House resolution, Senate Republicans have billed their own budget plan as a backup. The Senate plan would divide the reconciliation process into two bills, with the first aimed at quickly delivering resources for border security and defense, while a later bill would tackle the tax priorities. Senate Republicans also want to make the tax cuts permanent, which the House version does not do. 

Emily Hung and

Jaala Brown

contributed to this report.