Topline
The House Budget Committee approved President Donald Trump’s signature legislative agenda in a Sunday night vote after conservative holdouts, who had blocked its passage on Friday, agreed to move it forward as they claimed to have secured changes to the bill.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol.
Key Facts
The bill was passed with a vote of 17-16, after four of the committee’s conservative deficit hawks voted present while all Democrats on the panel opposed it.
Shortly before the bill’s passage, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., acknowledged that some changes to the bill had been agreed upon to get the holdouts on board but told reporters they were “just some minor modifications,” without offering details.
Ahead of the vote, the Budget Committee’s chair, Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, told old reporters, “deliberations continue at this very moment,” and they will continue “right up until the time we put this big, beautiful bill on the floor of the House.”
In a long post on X, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said the modified bill “ will move Medicaid work requirements forward and reduces the availability of future subsidies under the green new scam”.
Roy, who voted present, noted that the bill “does not yet meet the moment,” but he agreed to move it forward “out of respect for the Republican Conference and the President.”
In a Truth Social post after the panel’s vote, President Donald Trump wrote: “CONGRATULATIONS REPUBLICANS!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”
Crucial Quote
The ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus also reiterated Roy’s comments about the bill not meeting the moment yet in a statement and said: “As written, the bill continues increased deficits in the near term with possible savings years down the road that may never materialize…We are determined and committed to working through the remaining obstacles within this bill and we stand with our colleagues…who voted present to signal the need for further negotiations.”
Chief Critic
Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Penn., the senior most Democratic leader on the Budget Committee, tweeted: “Republicans just moved their budget bill forward after plotting behind closed doors to kick even more people off their health care. 13.7 MILLION people losing health care apparently wasn’t enough. This isn’t over — we’ll keep doing everything in our power to stop this betrayal.”
Big Number
$3.3 trillion. That it the amount Trump’s budget bill is expected to add to the federal debt over the next 10 years, according to an estimate published by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. The fiscal watchdog group warned this number could rise by an additional $5.2 trillion if lawmakers “ultimately extend temporary provisions.”
