This week, House Republicans will face a major challenge as they try to unite their diverse caucus to support the agenda of President Donald Trump for trillions of dollars in tax cuts and additional spending on border security and defense.
Speaker Mike Johnson, who has a majority of 218-215 in the House of Representatives can afford to lose one vote for any measure on which all Democrats vote no. As many as 12 Republicans are opposed to his budget resolution, which would allow Congress to start crafting legislation that will implement the Trump agenda.
Some lawmakers consider that the $36 trillion national debt is a factor in the $4.5 trillion tax cut proposed by the House resolution. The resolution also calls for $2 trillion in cuts to spending, which has some legislators concerned about the potential impact on constituent services.
What could go wrong? Johnson made the joke during his appearance at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC last week.
Johnson, from Louisiana, said, “But everyone – everyone – is dedicated to delivering America First Agenda, and that’s the reason we’re going get it done.”
Republicans in the House and Senate must pass this measure for a crucial part of their strategy. It is a parliamentary device that allows them to bypass the Senate filibuster as well as the opposition from Democrats.
The lawmakers will have to accomplish more in the weeks ahead. Congress must also prevent a partial shutdown of the government after March 14 when funding runs low and raise the debt ceiling to avoid a default mid-year.
Trump has received strong support from Republican members of Congress, particularly by getting Senate approval for his Cabinet nominees. This includes figures like Health and Human Services Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who has expressed doubts about vaccines and Tulsi Gabrield, his Director of National Intelligence, whose previous statements raised concerns over her stance towards U.S. enemies.
House Republicans are yet to reach a consensus over the plan despite the support of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus. This group, made up of around three dozen hardliners, has historically presented challenges for House Speakers in the past decade.
The Freedom Caucus has embraced the Resolution after the House Budget Committee raised the target for cuts in spending from $1.5 trillion up to $2 trillion as it prepared the resolution for this week’s floor vote. Other Republicans are concerned about the change, as it calls for tax reductions to be reduced to make up for any shortfalls in spending cuts.
The increased target for cuts in spending has caused concern among legislators who are concerned about the impact of the higher budget on food assistance, grants for education, and Medicaid health insurance for the poor. This is especially true for Hispanic communities, which helped Republicans gain control of the White House, both chambers of Congress, and the Senate.
“Some members are undecided or ‘leaning no’ in their opinion of the resolution. We still need to know where the savings are coming from,” Nicole Malliotakis said. She was one of eight Republicans that wrote a letter on Feb. 19, expressing their concerns.
“I need answers to some questions about how we’re going to achieve that without hurting Medicaid populations. That’s kind of where I’m at,” Malliotakis, of New York, said in an interview.
She said she would like to see savings from billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, put toward the spending cut target as a way of protecting services to her constituents.
Musk has a lot of money to save. Trump suggested that he would allocate 20% to Americans.
Johnson rebuked the idea at CPAC, saying that “fiscal responsibility is what conservatives do.” It’s part of our brand. We have a federal debt of $36 trillion… I think that we should pay off the credit card.”
Johnson’s conference is also vulnerable to possible infighting about other hot-button topics, including a proposal for an increase in the federal tax deduction for state and municipal taxes and fiscal mavericks that could demand greater cuts in spending.
“Almost nobody in Congress is serious” about cutting expenditures. Last week, Thomas Massie from Kentucky, an independent fiscal hawk who is a Johnson critic, blasted the cowardice of his colleagues on social platform X.
Last week, as a Plan B to counteract doubts about the unity of the House Republicans, the Senate Republicans passed their budget resolution. It is a $340 billion plan that addresses Trump’s priorities in border security, energy, and defense but leaves tax policy until later this year.
