House GOP Approves Trump Budget Framework After Standoff/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ House Republicans narrowly passed a sweeping budget framework after Speaker Mike Johnson secured enough support from conservative holdouts. The legislation advances former President Donald Trump’s agenda of tax cuts, spending reductions, and mass deportations. The package now moves to the Senate, where deeper battles loom.
Trump Budget Plan Clears House: Quick Looks
- House passes GOP budget framework 216-214, after intense late-night negotiations.
- The plan supports Trump’s tax cut agenda and calls for $1.5 trillion in federal cuts.
- Speaker Mike Johnson secured votes by addressing conservative concerns over deficits.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune assured conservatives of alignment on deeper cuts.
- Trump touted the bill online, calling it the “Biggest Tax Cuts in USA History.”
- Democrats, led by Hakeem Jeffries, denounced the plan as “reckless and callous.”
- The framework aims to extend 2017 tax breaks and eliminate taxes on tips and Social Security.
- The bill includes $175 billion for Trump’s deportation plan and more for defense.
- Medicaid and healthcare cuts are central to offsetting the projected $7 trillion cost.
- Final legislation could take months, with more negotiations ahead on spending and debt limits.
House GOP Approves Trump Budget Framework After Standoff
Deep Look
In a dramatic early-morning vote, House Republicans narrowly passed a sweeping budget framework on Thursday, delivering a crucial win for Speaker Mike Johnson and advancing Donald Trump’s revived domestic agenda centered on deep spending cuts and record-setting tax reductions.
After days of uncertainty and internal friction, the 216–214 vote marked a sharp turnaround from the previous night, when Johnson abruptly paused the proceedings amid GOP infighting. Key members of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus had withheld support, demanding deeper spending cuts to match the scale of tax relief proposed in the legislation.
The bill is a foundational piece of what Trump has called his “big, beautiful bill”—a package projected to include up to $7 trillion in tax cuts and spending over a decade, with roughly $1.5 trillion in cuts to federal programs. Thursday’s House action doesn’t finalize the legislation but moves it to the next phase in the long legislative process.
“We’re taking the next big step,” Johnson (R-La.) declared as he stood alongside Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who promised alignment with House conservatives on spending restraint. Thune added, “We’re going to do everything we can.”
The budget plan is key to unlocking Trump’s second-term priorities, which include preserving the 2017 tax cuts, eliminating taxes on tipped wages and Social Security income, and ramping up funding for mass deportations and national defense.
Trump, who had previously scolded GOP lawmakers for “grandstanding” on the budget, posted Thursday morning that it was “coming along really well,” adding: “Biggest Tax Cuts in USA History!!! Getting close.”
Still, passing the plan wasn’t easy. Just 24 hours earlier, at least a dozen GOP holdouts—mostly Freedom Caucus members—threatened to tank the vote, frustrated by what they saw as insufficient cuts and “fuzzy math” used to account for the tax break extensions.
During a marathon series of closed-door meetings Wednesday night, Johnson negotiated compromises and reached out to Trump directly. The speaker later confirmed he spoke with the former president for about five minutes as the GOP tried to “figure out the minimal number of cuts and savings that will satisfy everyone.”
Among those opposing the initial version was Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who posted: “The Math Does Not Add Up.” Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chair of the Freedom Caucus, led colleagues across the Capitol for rare talks with Senate Republicans, demanding deeper reductions.
Thune later cautioned against further amendments from the House, saying another round of changes would risk triggering another marathon Senate voting session like the one that occurred last weekend.
The bill’s passage is just the start of a multi-week, potentially months-long negotiation process, as House and Senate lawmakers work to convert the budget framework into binding legislation. Future votes on the final text, appropriations, and possible reconciliation measures are expected later this spring and summer.
Democrats, though lacking the numbers to stop the bill in the House, used the vote to highlight their concerns.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) called the plan “reckless and callous,” accusing Republicans of gutting programs for working Americans to finance giveaways to the wealthy.
“Hands off everyday Americans struggling to make ends meet,” Jeffries said.
The legislation preserves Trump-era tax reductions and could expand them significantly. The cost—estimated at $7 trillion over a decade—would be offset in part by slashing healthcare programs, Medicaid, and domestic social services, as well as restructuring discretionary spending.
It also includes $175 billion in new funding for Trump’s mass deportation program and an equivalent amount for the Defense Department, aligning with the administration’s focus on national security.
Conservatives were further angered by a Senate accounting workaround that avoids scoring the 2017 tax cut extensions as “new spending.” The tactic, while technically legal, effectively conceals $4.5 trillion in costs, inflaming tensions between the House and Senate GOP wings.
In the Senate, opposition exists even within Republican ranks. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) voted “no” last weekend over proposed Medicaid reductions, while Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) dismissed the entire package as built on “fishy math.”
The package also ties into the broader debt ceiling negotiations. The House plan raises the borrowing limit by $4 trillion, while the Senate plan goes further, proposing a $5 trillion increase to avoid revisiting the politically fraught issue until after the 2026 midterm elections.
Adding to the tension, House Republicans inserted a procedural clause in Wednesday’s vote to block any House action opposing Trump’s escalating tariffs, which have triggered economic concerns amid ongoing trade wars.
With U.S. debt now at $36 trillion and the Treasury Department warning of a funding shortfall by August, fiscal decisions in the coming months will shape not just the 2025 budget—but also the political landscape heading into 2026.
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