Speaker Mike Johnson is daring conservatives to sink his budget resolution, setting up a make-or-break moment in the House Budget Committee later today.
The speaker emerged from hours of talks Wednesday with two hard-liner holdouts — Reps. Chip Roy and Ralph Norman, both House Freedom Caucus members who also serve on the Budget Committee — saying he would not change his budget blueprint to meet their demands for deeper spending cuts and other adjustments.
Neither conservative would commit to voting for the framework in its current form, saying that they still want guarantees that spending cuts will total closer to $2 trillion than the $1.5 trillion floor Johnson proposed.
The good news for Johnson: Roy and Norman haven’t ruled out supporting the plan. And if all Budget Committee members are present and voting, GOP leaders can afford to lose two Republicans in a party-line vote — but not three.
White House officials have encouraged members to let the process move forward but aren’t cracking the whip — as key members of the administration remain divided over whether the one- or two-bill approach is best. Norman told reporters Wednesday that Trump administration officials had called him to check in, and the White House was also in constant contact with House GOP leaders over both the sweeping policy package and souring bipartisan government funding talks.
Hard-liners are entangling those two major legislative priorities. Roy hinted that conservatives want assurances on the funding talks in order to support the budget resolution today. Appropriations Chair Tom Cole said he has not personally heard any requests along those lines, but he made clear he was not thrilled with the suggestion.
“If I were them, I would stop worrying about a few billion dollars and start worrying about the trillions of dollars of tax increases they’re talking about,” Cole said of the hard-liners. “They’ve got to grow up and decide they’re going to be members of Congress instead of TV stars on cable.”
The back-and-forth is setting up a dramatic day inside 210 Cannon, where it’s likely to remain unclear well into the day whether Budget Chair Jodey Arrington can close the deal and send a budget resolution to the floor.
Even if the panel delivers, there are plenty of potholes still to dodge: Norman and Roy aren’t the only conservatives raising doubts, and New York Republicans are getting anxious that the current tax parameters may not provide enough wiggle room to expand the SALT deduction. And you can expect House tax writers to keep pushing for a larger deficit allowance than the $4.5 trillion outlined in the current plan.
Meanwhile, senators moved forward with their own budget blueprint Wednesday, which they continue to frame as a back-up plan to the House proposal. It could come to the floor as soon as next week. Get your vote-a-rama snacks ready, folks.
What else we’re watching:
Nominations: The Senate will vote to confirm Robert F. Kennedy as HHS secretary this morning at 9 a.m. Keep an eye on Sen. Mitch McConnell, a polio survivor, to see if he confirms Kennedy — he opposed Tulsi Gabbard for director of national intelligence Wednesday and Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary last month.
CR talks: Cole said on Wednesday that bipartisan discussions on appropriations bills are continuing and he has not been told to stop negotiating with Democrats. But privately, things may be moving towards a temporary funding bill, according to one person granted anonymity to speak on the matter. Cole said he requested a meeting with the speaker to talk about the next steps.
— Benjamin Guggenheim contributed to this report.
