Republicans were trying Tuesday to ram through President Trump’s “big, beautiful” budget plan, including steep spending cuts and big tax breaks for the wealthy over stubborn opposition from Democrats and some GOP holdouts.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was wrangling to win over fellow Republican lawmakers with opposing demands as he sought to win the near-unanimous GOP support needed to get the bill over the finish line in the face of united Democratic opposition.
Key votes were set for Tuesday evening but the outcome was very uncertain as at least a handful of GOP lawmakers say they don’t plan to support the measure as it stands.
“No concerns,” Johnson told reporters on the way into work Tuesday. “We’re going to get everyone there,” he said earlier, adding that it might require a “prayer request” to win.
If approved, the package would mark a crucial legislative victory for Trump as he pushes to extend his signature multi-trillion dollar tax breaks while also cutting spending to avoid blowing up the budget deficit.
It’s not going smoothly so far and Johnson has almost no room for error with just a three-vote majority.
Some moderate and establishment Republicans worry voters will blame them for backing deep cuts to federal spending programs their constituents rely on like health care, food stamps, student loans and other popular programs.
But GOP budget hardliners take a diametrically opposite stance, demanding even deeper spending cuts as the price of their support.
The drama on Capitol Hill is unfolding as presidential billionaire buddy Elon Musk rips federal agencies apart with his Department of Government Efficiency firing thousands of workers nationwide, provoking angry protests from voters at town hall meetings held by Republican lawmakers.
“While we fully support efforts to rein in wasteful spending and deliver on President Trump’s agenda, it is imperative that we do not slash programs that support American communities across our nation,” wrote Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), a key moderate vote who is still on the fence.
At least three hardline budget hawks, meanwhile, have said they will vote no, which on its own could doom the plan to defeat.
Democrats are mobilizing their caucus to oppose the plan, and so far they expect to vote in lockstep against what they call Trump’s “GOP tax scam.”
House Democratic Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries was set to lead Democrats in a show of unified opposition on the steps of the Capitol ahead of Tuesday’s legislative session.
Johnson, whose party lost seats in last November’s election, commands one of the thinnest majorities in modern history, which means he must keep almost every Republican in line or risk losing the vote.
Already, several lawmakers have objected to the package either because it cuts too much or because it doesn’t cut enough.