Breaking: House GOP pulls budget measure
House Republican leaders fall short amid conservative revolt ahead of two-week recess
House GOP leadership's attempts to rally their conference around a Senate-passed budget resolution fell short on Wednesday, with Speaker Mike Johnson pulling a budget bill to advance legislation to tackle a large portion of President Trump's top legislative priorities ahead of the vote amid a conservative revolt.
The move—which came after leadership held a vote on an unrelated bill open for more than an hour while Johnson attempted to pressure holdouts to get on board in his ceremonial office off the floor—deals a blow to House GOP leadership’s plans to pass the legislation before breaking for a two-week recess.
”So we're going to talk about maybe going to conference with the Senate or adding an amendment, but we're going to make that decision. We are going to continue to move forward,” Johnson told reporters on Wednesday evening.
Critics of the bill railed against the Senate version, arguing that its significantly lower target for spending cuts fails to address the nation's deficit problems. The Senate version calls for committees to identify just $4 billion in cuts, a fraction of the House bill's ambitious push for $2 trillion in spending reductions over the next decade.
President Trump himself has pushed skeptical members to rally behind the measure, telling wavering members to "close your eyes and get there" during an NRCC fundraiser on Tuesday evening and posting on social media that passing the resolution was essential to implementing his economic agenda.
"Republicans, it is more important now, than ever, that we pass THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL. The USA will Soar like never before!!!" the president posted on his social media platform, Truth Social, in the hours leading up to the vote.
House GOP leadership argued that the bill just opens the gateway for them to get the ball rolling on the sweeping reconciliation vote.
"I'm trying to assure my colleagues that we have it on good faith with the Senate that they're committed to this as we are, and that we can protect essential programs — and cut unnecessary fraud, waste, abuse and other savings in the government — that will make it work better for everybody," Johnson said on Monday.
But holdouts have vowed to dig in their heels despite the White House and leadership's arm-twisting to pass the bill.
"Look, there's a lot of pressure being brought to bear. I can still do math, and the math of the Senate bill doesn't add up," Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, told 24sight News. "That's it. None of that's changed, so until the math changes, I'm not going to vote for it."
Both chambers need to pass a budget to move forward with crafting and passing Trump's self-described "one big beautiful bill" aimed at implementing tax cuts, border security measures, and energy reforms without requiring Democratic votes in the Senate. Some lawmakers, including House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), have called for the two bills to be conferenced to find a consensus that can pass both chambers.
Oh yeah. Cut that deficit with tax cuts and tariffs. Easily done, stable geniuses.
Republicans - and Trump - had four years to form a strategy; Project 2025 is nearly 1000 pages long; so why the fumbling and stumbling? It’s not just unseriousness, it’s incompetence.