House Republicans have approved a multitrillion-dollar budget framework that allows the party to begin the process of drafting legislation to enact key elements of President Trump’s domestic policy agenda — including tax cuts and spending on defense, energy and immigration.
The budget blueprint was approved Thursday by a vote of 216 to 214.
GOP Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana joined all Democrats in voting no.
“I don’t believe they’re going to make any cuts of any consequence,” Massie said after the vote. “Now they may reduce spending here and increase spending there, but overall, the money spent next year is going to be more than the money spent this year.”
The vote is a victory for Trump and congressional Republican leaders who spent days convincing fiscal hawks within the Republican Party to vote for the bill despite their frustration over the level of spending cuts included in the Senate version of the plan that was adopted on Saturday. The Senate framework outlines only about $4 billion in spending cuts. The House version seeks at least $1.5 trillion.
Now that Republicans have adopted identical versions of the framework in the House and Senate, they are able to unlock a special budget tool known as reconciliation — a complicated process that allows them to avoid a filibuster in Senate and pass a final version of the legislation with a 51-vote simple majority.
Both chambers will now get to work on drafting the final legislative product, likely a lengthy process requiring intense negotiations. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters that after the two-week recess that begins next week, House committees will work “in a collaborative fashion” with Senate committees on next steps.
“We have bills drafted. Most of them have been scored already,” he said. “Now we go through the process of marking it up and finding the equilibrium points with everybody so that all those interests are met.”
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