WASHINGTON – The House voted 217-215 to advance the GOP plan for President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda Tuesday, after an all-day whip effort convinced a few Republican holdouts to come on board in a dramatic last-minute turnaround.
It was the first major test of the House Republican conference, which seeks to pass Trump’s priorities for border, energy and taxes through one of the narrowest legislative margins in modern American history, and a gauntlet for House Speaker Mike Johnson as he sought to keep his members united.
Trump had endorsed the House’s plan to roll all of his campaign promises into one “big, beautiful bill,” and it was on Johnson to deliver the votes necessary to unlock the process to pass it.
Johnson could only lose one Republican vote and still succeed. After nearly two hours on the House floor whipping votes, Johnson appeared to have failed and canceled the vote before abruptly calling members back to the chamber. The proposal passed around 8:25 p.m.
The proposal would set out a total amount of money Congress could spend to implement Trump’s priorities and the total amount they must cut, kicking off the process for a party-line bill that could clear the Senate without reaching the 60-vote threshold typically needed to clear the filibuster.
But a handful of fiscally conservative House Republicans insisted that they couldn’t support the legislation because it didn’t reduce the deficit enough. Other moderate Republicans raised concerns that proposal would necessitate cuts to Medicaid, which provides health insurance to 72 million low-income Americans.
Johnson’s efforts appeared to be undermined by a last-minute comment from Trump himself, casting doubt on the House plan just an hour before the chamber was set to vote on the legislation. He said the Senate’s plan is “very strong,” that he was “looking at them both and I’ll make decisions.”
“Each one of them has things that I like,” he said. “So we’ll see if we can come together.”
However, three of the four Republican holdouts eventually came on board to get the vote across the finish line: Reps. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio, switched from no to yes, apparently with Trump’s help. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. was the lone GOP no vote.
U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks with press while walking into the House Chambers to vote on February 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.
What’s in the House plan?
The House’s plan would set up a massive reconciliation bill that would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and implement new ones at a cost of $4.5 trillion. It would also allocate $300 billion for spending on defense and border security, would raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion over two years, and add almost $3 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years.
In order to bring members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus on board, Republican leadership agreed to require lawmakers to find $2 trillion in federal cost savings over 10 years.
If they fail to reach that goal, Republicans would have to pare back their planned $4.5 trillion in tax cuts by an equal amount, reducing the overall cost of the package, which has been a concern for fiscal conservatives. Conversely, if lawmakers find larger cost savings, they can pass larger tax cuts.
Still, some GOP holdouts insisted that agreement doesn’t go far enough to rein in federal government spending.
“We have no plan whatsoever to balance the budget other than growth. But what they’re proposing is to make the deficit worse,” said Massie, who wears a pin on his lapel displaying the total federal debt, constantly ticking up.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, Chairman of the House Budget Committee, estimated that the policies they hope to pass with the reconciliation bill will produce at least 2.6% growth annually in the economy.
“It doesn’t add to the deficit because if we don’t believe that our pro-growth, pro-work, pro-energy policies will generate enough macroeconomic feedback and revenue to the Treasury to grow this economy… then we just don’t have enough faith in our own policies. I do,” he said.
Potential cuts to Medicaid, other benefit programs
The budget blueprint would also direct multiple committees to cut billions of dollars, including $880 billion in cuts spearheaded by the Energy and Commerce Committee. Because Trump has ruled out cuts to Medicare and Social Security, experts say that may necessitate cuts to Medicaid, which is under the committee’s jurisdiction.
The Education and Workforce Committee, which has jurisdiction over education programs, school lunch programs and work requirements for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program, would be directed to cut $330 billion. The Agriculture Committee, which has oversight over farm programs and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, would be required to cut $230 billion from programs under its jurisdiction.
House Democrats have argued the legislation represents a “betrayal of the middle class.” And several Republican members from swing districts have raised concerns about the impact of potential cuts to SNAP or Medicare on their constituents.
Republican leadership has pushed back on that suggestion, arguing that enough savings can be found simply by rooting out fraud and waste and by implementing work requirements.
Johnson said Tuesday that Republicans are “committed to preserving Medicare benefits for those who desperately need it, deserve it, and quality for it. What we’re talking about is rooting out fraud, waste, and abuse.”
House Agriculture Chair Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., has also said there would be no cuts in the final bill to SNAP, the program that helps around 41 million low-income people buy food.
Moderates who were concerned about potential Medicare cuts left a GOP conference meeting Tuesday morning convinced to vote for the blueprint, assured they’ll have a chance to negotiate when lawmakers hash out policy.
“The President’s been very clear, he doesn’t want to cut Medicaid, and I’ve been very clear,” said Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y. “So we’re going to negotiate once you actually unlock the ability to do that for a final reconciliation bill. This is step one.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: House Republicans narrowly advance plan for Trump’s agenda
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