House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) managed to flip enough Republican votes to narrowly pass his “big beautiful” reconciliation bill Tuesday night, securing a major victory for the speaker.
Leading up to the late-night vote, Johnson was facing four Republican “no” votes on his reconciliation bill despite having President Donald Trump’s endorsement. Given the GOP’s historically narrow House majority, Johnson could afford to lose only one vote, which made reeling in Republican defectors a tall task.
Nevertheless, Johnson flipped three of the four Republican holdouts for a final 217-215 vote tally. To nobody’s surprise, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the lone Republican holdout.
‘The House laid the groundwork to fund America First priorities while bending the spending curve down.’
“House Republicans got it done tonight. This vote was a key step in the process to deliver President Trump’s full America First agenda,” Johnson said in a statement following the vote. “I’m grateful to my colleagues, especially Chairman Arrington and Chairman Smith. Tomorrow, we roll up our sleeves and get right back at it.”
“Big First Step Win for Speaker Mike Johnson, and AMERICA,” Trump said in a Truth Social post Wednesday. “Now let’s start to BALANCE THE BUDGET. IT CAN BE DONE!!! DJT.”
Although a handful of Republicans gave Johnson a hard time, several fiscal conservatives were in support of the bill before it ever hit the floor. Republican Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona and Chip Roy of Texas, who have historically been defectors in previous spending fights, affirmed their support for the Trump-backed bill.
“Last night, the House laid the groundwork to fund America First priorities while bending the spending curve down,” Biggs said in a Wednesday post on X. “House Republicans are committed to fulfilling the mandate delivered by the American people.”
‘I am hopeful and optimistic, and we’ll see if they can pull it off.’
The budget blueprint sets the stage to extend Trump’s tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year. The bill additionally allocates much-needed border and defense spending while also reducing certain aspects of spending.
The House is now caught up with the Senate, which approved its own budget blueprint the week before. Although both the House and the Senate are addressing Trump’s policy priorities like border funding, tax extensions, and spending cuts, the Senate has opted for a two-bill approach as opposed to the House’s single-bill approach.
With the Senate bill acting as a backup, Republicans are hopeful they can get Johnson’s budget proposal through.
“I am hopeful and optimistic, and we’ll see if they can pull it off,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said.
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Mike johnson, Reconciliation, Donald trump, Andy biggs, Tim burchett, Victoria spartz, Jason smith, Jodey arrington, Warren davidson, John thune, Chip roy, Fiscal conservatives, Maga madnate, Border crisis, Budget, Spending bill, Spending cuts, Tax cuts, Trump tax cuts, House republicans, Senate republicans, Thomas massie, Politics