House Republicans successfully passed their budget resolution bill Tuesday night in a 217-215 vote.
Entering the vote, there were still a handful of holdouts, including Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., and Warren Davidson, R-Ohio.
In the end, Massie was the sole Republican to oppose the resolution, which calls for a minimum $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to pay for President Donald Trump’s tax, border and military priorities.
“Ultimately just the fact that we are making some cuts, and there is border wall security that folks back home really yelled about,” Burchett said on why he flipped to a yes vote.
In the days and even minutes leading up to the vote, it was still unclear if Republicans could convince the entire conference to support the bill. Initially, the budget resolution was pulled from the floor at the last minute. About 10 minutes later, members were called back to the floor for the vote.
Republicans speculated that Trump had some influence over this quick flip.
“Maybe the message came from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue,” said Rep. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., when asked why things changed so quickly.
“In the 10 minutes, some of my colleagues watched Schoolhouse Rock and realized that this is a procedural vote that will allow us to go forward as members of separate committees to make sure that we can make our budgetary goals and then get on with the regular order of the appropriations process,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis.
Republicans still face a long road ahead after clearing this procedural hurdle. Committees will now find and propose policy changes that meet instructed spending reductions. Democrats have attacked the House resolution specifically for expected cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
The House Agriculture Committee was instructed to find $230 billion in cuts, most of which are expected to come from SNAP. Chair Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., has insisted these would be changes to ensure program integrity rather than cuts to benefits.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee was asked to make deeper cuts at $880 billion. While these could come from a variety of policy changes, cuts or changes to Medicaid also have been floated.
“This is underhanded, even for them. I mean they'll stop at nothing to screw poor people and the middle class," said Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., following the resolution passage. "And I think they think this gives them an advantage, but it's really underhanded, and not the way this place should be run. It's disrespectful of this institution.”
The potential cuts to SNAP and Medicaid, along with other policy changes, have also caused some uneasiness among moderate Republicans.
Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who represents the state’s only Democratic district and is often vulnerable in elections, ultimately voted in favor of the resolution after conversations with leadership, Thompson and E&C Committee Chair Brett Guthrie, R-Ky.
Bacon said Thompson assured him that the Agriculture Committee cuts would be somewhere in the middle of what the House and Senate resolutions specify.
“If I don’t like the final result, I can vote no then,” Bacon said.
On top of maintaining House Republican support, the conference faces challenges finding a middle ground with the Senate’s far more modest proposal.
The chamber’s resolution, which was adopted last week, focuses on increasing funds for the border and military while leaving tax cuts for later. The resolution also only includes $5 billion in spending cuts, at least $1 billion of which is expected to come from the Agriculture Committee.
After the vote, House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said passage of the resolution should show the Senate that the House can achieve anything with Trump's support.
“We're going to have to engage at this point in a more meaningful way and in greater detail on how we get the budget resolution targets and the framework that we've developed here over in the Senate," Arrington said.
Reporter Oliver Ward contributed to this report.
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