Washington — On Friday, conservatives blocked President Trump’s domestic policy bill from moving forward in the House Budget Committee.
Republicans have yet to resolve several disagreements that have threatened to derail what Mr. Trump calls his “big, beautiful bill” as more conservative members and blue-state Republicans press their demands.
Five Republicans — Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, and Andrew Clyde of Georgia — voted against advancing the legislation on Friday, when the Budget Committee met to combine the various parts of the reconciliation package produced by other committees into a single bill.
Conservatives argued that the legislation does not go far enough to reduce federal spending. Conservative members have demanded that work requirements be increased for Medicaid recipients without disabilities and children.
Under the current bill, the requirements would not take effect until 2029, but conservatives want them to begin as soon as the legislation is signed into law.
“This bill falls dramatically short. “It does not do what we say it does in terms of deficits,” Roy said during the meeting, adding that “this bill has front-loaded spending and back-loaded savings.”
Clyde also stated that the bill “falls short” and “substantial improvements are required.”
“Sadly, I’m a hard no until we get this ironed out,” Norman told me.
Smucker, who changed his vote at the last minute, stated that he supports the bill but voted “no” so that the legislation could be brought up for another vote. The committee intends to return late Sunday to vote again.
Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas, the committee’s Republican chairman, defended his decision to hold the meeting on Friday despite conservative warnings that it lacked enough support, saying “you can’t accomplish anything in life without having deadlines and decisions.”
“Their hearts are in the proper place. Their motivations are pure. I share their convictions and their desired outcomes from changing some of these policies and improving the bill. “This isn’t the place to do it,” Arrington said Friday afternoon after meeting with the holdouts.
The Budget Committee cannot make changes to the bill, but it may be updated if it is brought before the Rules Committee. The Rules Committee was scheduled to meet on Monday to prepare for a floor vote later next week if it passed out of the Budget Committee on Friday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has remained committed to bringing the legislation, which would extend tax cuts from Mr. Trump’s first term while temporarily enacting new ones, to the floor before Memorial Day, despite disagreements within his party.
The tax increases, as well as increased military and border security spending, would be partially offset by cuts to Medicaid, food stamps, and clean energy subsidies.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, stated that they are considering moving up the effective date of the work requirements to get more members on board with the final product, but that the final details have yet to be worked out.
“We’re all in agreement on the reforms we want to make,” Scalise announced. “We want to establish work requirements. We want to phase out many of these green subsidies. How quickly can you finish that? It is not as simple as saying, “You can turn it off tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, a group of Republicans from blue states has threatened to withdraw their support in a floor vote if the bill does not increase the limit on state and local taxes that can be deducted on federal tax returns. The bill raises the deduction’s cap from $10,000 to $30,000, but several New York Republicans have pushed for even higher increases.
Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, called the cap “unacceptable” on Thursday, saying the group has told leadership that “none of us are going to support it as it currently stands.”
Mr. Trump, who is on his way back from the Middle East, urged Republicans to rally behind the bill. Scalise stated that Mr. Trump had been closely following the situation.
“The Republican Party does not require ‘GRANDSTANDERS’. “Stop talking and get it done!” Mr. Trump wrote on Friday, while the Budget Committee meeting was underway.
Johnson spent Thursday meeting with the opposing factions and stated that they would continue to negotiate through the weekend to resolve any remaining differences. If all members vote on the floor, he can afford only three defections.