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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) secured a win Tuesday when House Republicans voted to advance a budget framework for a third reconciliation package. But the proposal still faces significant obstacles ahead as GOP leaders work to keep conservative hardliners on board.
The budget framework calls for $73 billion in defense and intelligence funding amid the conflict with Iran, $12 billion in agriculture aid and $10 billion for a fund aimed at incentivizing states to adopt Trump-backed voting restrictions, for a total of $95 billion in new spending.
Despite clearing the procedural rule vote, conservative hardliners remain uneasy over the lack of offsets in the framework, raising questions about whether the measure can secure final passage later this week. Fiscal hawks have repeatedly insisted that any new spending be paired with corresponding cuts, and many are expected to keep pressing leadership for those commitments before backing a broader reconciliation package.
Asked whether he would support a final vote on the budget resolution, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, told The Hill on Wednesday that “we’re still talking about it.”
“It’s being negotiated. Y’all know this place,” Norman said. “Negotiations to the very minute.”
Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) told reporters Tuesday morning, “I didn’t come here to bankrupt the country, so I’m always concerned with spending money and not finding offsets.” It’s unclear where he stands on a budget resolution final vote.
Johnson can only afford to lose three GOP defection votes on any party-line measure, assuming all members are present and unified in opposition, given his razor-thin margin in the House. With lawmakers set to bolt for a month-long August recess at the end of the week, Johnson will likely need to coalesce his conference around the budget framework quickly or risk watching it get stalled in the House.
President Trump, meanwhile, has urged House Republicans to vote yes on the budget resolution in a Truth Social post Monday, calling it “an important first step towards getting a Budget Bill.”
Some House Republicans are expressing confidence that the budget resolution will clear the lower chamber despite lingering tensions over the lack of offsets.
Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) told The Hill that the budget framework will “probably pass,” arguing that Republicans “don’t have a better option right now.”
Asked about the lack of offsets, Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas), a member of the House Freedom Caucus, said, “The most important thing is the SAVE America Act. Full SAVE America. I’m willing to eat some spending in order to get the most important bill we will pass this year, the SAVE America Act, across the finish line.”
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act requires proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and the presentation of an ID to cast a ballot. Conservative hardliners have been pushing for the full measure to be included in the reconciliation package.
Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) argued that “House Republicans, we almost always get our work done,” even if it may not always be a “pretty journey.”
“Part of what happens with these legislative journeys is at the beginning, everybody is comparing the proposal to perfect, what they want. As the week moves on, people generally understand that they need to be comparing the proposal with some other realistic option, and that perfect is never going to happen around here,” he said.
“As that happens, people across the spectrum in the House understand that what’s been proposed isn’t that bad. That’s why we’ve generally won votes Wednesday, Thursday, Friday that looked pretty bleak on a Monday or a Tuesday,” he added.
House GOP leaders have emphasized that the budget resolution is only the first step in the process, arguing that lawmakers will have ample opportunities to hash out the details in the weeks and months ahead.
House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) told The Hill on Tuesday that he is not “giving up on offsets.”
“I think it behooves us as House Republicans to let the newly elected appointed chair of the Senate [Budget Committee], Ron Johnson, and his colleagues in the Senate figure out how best to navigate that so that we can have offsets,” he said.
“I’m for offsets for any reason and any time as budget chair. But those things will have to be worked through and litigated in the Senate, where the reconciliation process is most relevant,” Arrington added.
Max Rego contributed
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