On Tuesday, the House of Representatives narrowly passed a Republican budget resolution that would advance much of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda in one “big, beautiful bill.” After weeks of infighting and doubt surrounding the passage of the resolution, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and other House GOP leaders were able to successfully advance the resolution in a 217 to 215 party-line vote. Only one Republican, Rep. Massie (R-KY) defected, citing concerns over measures that would increase the deficit.
House and Senate GOP leaders had been at odds over the strategy behind this legislative package, with Senate leaders preferring a two-pronged approach in which defense, immigration, and energy would be tackled in one bill and taxes in another bill later in the year. House leaders, on the other hand, with the backing of President Trump, stood firmly behind their one-bill approach.
The Senate passed their own version of the resolution last week, so now leaders from both chambers will need to coalesce around a single plan. The largest roadblocks will likely be the $4.5 trillion in tax cuts called for by the House plan, which would be paid for in part by the proposed cuts to programs such as Medicaid and SNAP. Moderates in both chambers have voiced concerns over these provisions, while hardline conservatives have demanded more severe spending cuts to offset the tax plan.
While significant challenges lie ahead for President Trump’s agenda, the passage of the House resolution is a major hurdle that has now been cleared. If House and Senate Republicans can build support behind a single bill, they will unlock the ability to pass it through the reconciliation process which, crucially, is not subject to filibuster in the Senate.
All of this is occurring while top appropriators in both chambers scramble to stave off the government shutdown slated to take effect later this month if a spending agreement is not reached. The continuing resolution reached late last year is set to expire after March 14th, and negotiations appear to have stalled as Democrats seek assurances from congressional Republicans that President Trump will spend any money that is appropriated.