Johnson Pledges Another Attempt After GOP Rebels Stall Vote on Trump’s Budget Bill

WASHINGTON — Speaker of the House Mike Johnson pledged to make another attempt on Thursday to pass a Republican budget plan after abruptly stopping votes. He had been working late into the night to appease Republican objectors who demanded deeper spending cuts before agreeing to trillions of dollars in tax breaks.

Even strong support from President Donald Trump wasn’t enough to get the package approved. Johnson was compelled to call off Wednesday’s scheduled vote when Republican hardliners left him without sufficient backing. This put at risk what the president calls the “big, beautiful bill,” which is essential to his agenda of tax cuts, mass deportations, and a smaller federal government.

“The president is very eager for us to get this done,” said Johnson, R-La., after a late-night meeting with GOP lawmakers. He anticipates votes on Thursday.

Advancing the budget framework would mark another achievement for Johnson, who has a narrow majority and can only afford to lose a few dissenters. A failed vote, especially with the economy struggling due to Trump’s trade policies, would be a significant setback for the Republican agenda in Washington.

“Stop grandstanding!” Trump had urged Republicans at a fundraising gala at the National Building Museum earlier in the week.

Trump advised Republicans to “Close your eyes and get there.”

However, by Wednesday afternoon, the situation was uncertain. At least a dozen, possibly more, conservative Republicans were firmly opposed to the plan. Some, including members of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, took the unusual step of meeting privately with Senate GOP leaders to push for deeper cuts.

As evening approached, Johnson gathered a group of Republicans in a private meeting room, bringing House proceedings to a standstill. They continued discussing alternatives late into the night.

Johnson mentioned that he spoke with Trump for about five minutes during the GOP meeting. The House speaker said they are trying to determine the minimum amount of cuts and savings “that will satisfy everyone.”

Options being considered include amending the Senate bill or forming a conference committee to resolve the differences. “There’s a few different ideas on the table,” Johnson stated.

“We want everyone to be very comfortable with what is happening here, and we have a small group of members who weren’t completely satisfied with the product as it stands,” Johnson said.

House GOP conservatives, including several who met with Trump at the White House this week, are still concerned that the Senate GOP’s blueprint, approved last weekend, doesn’t cut spending enough to prevent rising deficits.

“The Math Does Not Add Up,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, posted on social media, stating he would not support it.

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., the head of the Freedom Caucus, led others in a meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and other leading Senate Republicans.

“All we can do is make sure that they understand where we’re coming from and how closely we want to work with them to get to the final product,” Thune said afterward.

However, the Senate GOP leader dismissed the idea of the House sending back an amended version, which would require another potential all-night voting session like the one senators experienced last weekend. “We can’t do that — another vote-a-rama, that drags it on indefinitely,” Thune said.

The House and Senate are still in the early stages of a process that will take weeks, if not months, to transform their budget resolutions into legislative text — a final product that will face further votes later this spring or summer.

Democrats, being in the minority, lack the votes to block the package but have voiced warnings against it.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York described the Republicans’ budget plan as irresponsible and insensitive because it proposes budget cuts to fund tax breaks for the wealthy.

“We’re here to make it clear,” Jeffries said. “Hands off everyday Americans struggling to make ends meet.”

A key aspect of the budget framework is the Republican effort to preserve the tax breaks approved in 2017 during Trump’s first term, while potentially adding new ones he promised during his campaign. This includes no taxes on tipped wages, Social Security income, and other items, increasing the total cost to around $7 trillion over the next decade.

The package also allows for budget increases, with approximately $175 billion allocated for Trump’s mass deportation operation and a similar amount for the Defense Department to increase military spending.

These measures would be partly funded by significant cuts to domestic programs, including health care, as part of the $2 trillion in reductions outlined in the House GOP version of the package, although some GOP senators have indicated their unwillingness to go that far.

To reduce costs, the Senate is using an unusual accounting method that doesn’t classify the costs of maintaining the 2017 tax cuts, approximately $4.5 trillion, as new spending. This is another factor angering House conservatives.

Two Republican senators voted against their package during an overnight weekend session. Maine Sen. Susan Collins opposed steep cuts to Medicaid in the House’s framework, while Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul argued that the entire package relied on “fishy” math that would increase the debt.

The package would also raise the nation’s debt limit to allow for more borrowing to pay the bills. Trump had wanted lawmakers to resolve this politically challenging issue. With the debt now at $36 trillion, the Treasury Department has warned that it will run out of funds by August.

However, the House and Senate also need to bridge their differences on the debt limit. The House GOP wants to increase the debt limit by $4 trillion, whereas the Senate GOP wants to raise it by $5 trillion to avoid revisiting the issue until after the fall 2026 midterm election.

With Trump’s trade wars influencing the debate, House Republicans included a provision in a procedural vote that would prevent House action to disapprove of Trump’s tariffs, as the Senate has done.

—Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick, Stephen Groves, Leah Askarinam and Matt Brown contributed to this report.