The House is planning to vote on a budget resolution next week to get the ball rolling on its effort to pass President Trump’s legislative agenda, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s (R-La.) office confirmed to The Hill on Wednesday.
The news came shortly after Trump, in a post on Truth Social, endorsed the House GOP’s one-bill blueprint over the Senate’s two-track framework, taking a clear stance in the Republican debate over which strategy should be used to advance the president’s domestic policy priorities.
“The House and Senate are doing a SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable, TEAM, however, unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it! We need both Chambers to pass the House Budget to ‘kickstart’ the Reconciliation process, and move all of our priorities to the concept of, ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.’ It will, without question, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.
House GOP leaders lauded the statement from Trump, taking a victory lap after months of arguing that their strategy was superior.
“.@realDonaldTrump is right!” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote on X. “House Republicans are working to deliver President Trump’s FULL agenda – not just a small part of it. Let’s get it done, @HouseGOP!”
“The House Republican Budget Resolution implements President @realDonaldTrump’s FULL America First Agenda—not just parts of it—and he’s made it clear that’s what Congress needs to pass. House Republicans are working to get it done. Make America Great Again!” Scalise echoed in a post on X.
News of the House GOP moving on its budget resolution next week is in line with the initial timeline Johnson laid out. The Speaker had said he wanted the House to adopt the measure the last week of February, with the goal of clearing the final package in April.
It also comes as the Senate is barreling ahead passing its own, one-bill budget resolution. The upper chamber kicked off consideration of the measure on Tuesday with the aim of passing it this week.
Republicans are aiming to use the budget reconciliation process to pass Trump’s agenda which, would allow the party to circumvent Democratic opposition in the Senate. The first step in the budget reconciliation process is adopting a budget resolution.
Johnson, however, still faces a number of difficulties as he looks to advance the budget resolution through the House next week. A number of moderate Republicans, for example, have expressed concerns with likely cuts to Medicaid the measure would prompt, and some hardline conservatives have never supported a debt limit increase.
“I still have my concerns,” Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) told The Hill after Trump’s announcement. “I appreciate the president’s comments on Hannity last night reaffirming his commitment to not cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, but I still need some clarity from my colleagues in the House on how we’re gonna get to the numbers mandated in the resolution without cutting Medicaid in a way that it impacts beneficiaries or my hospitals.”
The House GOP budget resolution outlines a $1.5 trillion floor for spending cuts across committees with a target of $2 trillion, a $4.5 trillion cap on the deficit impact of the Republicans’ plan to extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, and $300 billion in additional spending for the border and defense. It also increases the debt limit by $4 trillion.
Within those numbers, the resolution mandates the Energy and Commerce Committee — which has jurisdiction over Medicaid — to find at least $880 billion in cuts, a number that many do not see feasible without significant slashes to Medicaid. On Tuesday night, during an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity, however, Trump said “none of that stuff is going to be touched,” referring to Medicare and Medicaid.
By contrast, the Senate GOP includes roughly $325 billion to bolster border operations, allow the execution of Trump’s deportation plans, boost defense spending and greenlight energy plans. The conference plans to move on tax cuts in a second package.
In an interview with Punchbowl News after Trump’s announcement, Scalise said “We’ve got a bill that achieves all of President Trump’s priorities, and we’re going to move it next week.”
“Let’s get that one moving to the Senate, and then get that one done so we can officially start reconciliation and then move one bill,” he added.
