The House Budget Committee late Sunday night advanced the GOP’s “big, beautiful” carrying President Trump’s agenda, but negotiations on changes are still underway.
The successful 17-16 committee vote on Sunday came after the panel failed to advance the measure on Friday when four House Freedom Caucus members seeking steeper spending cuts voted against it.
Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Chip Roy of Texas, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Andrew S. Clyde of Georgia switched their “no” votes to “present” on Sunday night, allowing the measure to advance as negotiations continue.
“In an effort to move this bill forward — I’m excited about the changes we’ve made — and I will vote present,” Mr. Norman said.
Democrats on the committee shouted, “What changes?” But they received no answer from Republicans during the markup.
“I couldn’t tell you what is in flux, what is fixed, what might change or not change,” Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, Texas Republican, said.
The Budget Committee does not have jurisdictional authority to make changes. Its role in the process is to package the pieces of the bill approved by 11 other committees and ensure the measure complies with reconciliation instructions House and Senate Republicans adopted in a budget resolution last month.
After the committee markup, Mr. Roy posted to social media some of the changes that had been agreed to in closed-door negotiations but said he and fellow conservatives remain unsatisfied.
“Importantly the bill now will move Medicaid work requirements forward and reduces the availability of future subsidies under the green new scam,” he said. “But, the bill does not yet meet the moment – leaving almost half of the green new scam subsidies continuing. More, it fails to end the Medicaid money laundering scam and perverse funding structure that provides seven times more federal dollars for each dollar of state spending for the able-bodied relative to the vulnerable.”
Mr. Roy said he and the other three Republicans who voted “present” did so to move the bill forward out of respect for their colleagues and the president but that ongoing negotiations need to yield further changes to earn their support on the floor.
“We can and must do better before we pass the final product,” he said.
The House Freedom Caucus board issued a similar statement saying the bill “does not yet meet the moment” in terms of spending cuts and preventing near-term deficit increases but they are committed to working through remaining obstacles.
“We face a serious fiscal crisis, and we must put an end to Washington’s wasteful spending now,” the Freedom Caucus board said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, is still trying to pass the bill through the House before Memorial Day but cannot afford more than three GOP defections on the floor.
“There’s a lot more work to do,” the speaker told reporters. “I’m looking forward to very thoughtful discussions, very productive discussions over the next few days. And I am absolutely convinced we are going to get this in final form and pass it in accordance with our original deadline.”
Mr. Johnson declined to get into many details of changes that had been negotiated so far but said Republicans would move up the 2029 implementation date for Medicaid work requirements.
The lack of details shared frustrated Democrats on the committee. It’s important that “all the members know transparently just what the heck is in this thing,” House Budget ranking member Brendan Boyle, Pennsylvania Democrat, said
“Because obviously it’s changing back in that back room by the minute,” he said, referring to an office by the committee hearing room where Mr. Johnson, other GOP leaders and White House officials were huddling.
Mr. Arrington said no formal changes had been made yet and that the tweaks would be unveiled through a manager’s amendment in the Rules Committee, which sets up the terms of debate for the measure before it hits the floor.
“When there is a definitive change, people will know that change,” he said.
Mr. Johnson said he is targeting Tuesday or Wednesday for the Rules Committee to consider changes to the measure and a final floor vote by Thursday.
“That’s my plan,” he said.
