Capitol Hill Update: House GOP Budget Resolution Set to Hit the Floor Next Week

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will bring the House GOP’s budget resolution to the floor next week after President Donald Trump endorsed the one-bill approach yesterday. While the House’s resolution passed in committee with the full support of Republicans on the panel, leadership will still need to work overtime to ensure full support on the floor given the razor-thin margin. Notably, eight GOP lawmakers — including Reps. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), David Valadao (R-CA), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), along with non-voting Delegates James Moylan (R-GU) and Kimberly King-Hinds (R-MP) — wrote to Speaker Johnson cautioning against deep cuts to Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Pell Grants.

• What they’re saying. “As we consider reconciliation cuts, we must be strategic. We need to uphold fiscal responsibility while ensuring that essential programs — programs that have empowered Americans to succeed — are not caught in the crossfire.”

• Meanwhile.. Senate Republicans are set tomove toward adopting their budget resolution upon conclusion of the so-called vote-a-rama — a process that allows for unlimited, rapid-fire consideration of amendments upon the conclusion of 50 hours of debate equally divided among both parties. Despite being spurned by President Trump’s endorsement of the House’s resolution, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) stressed the importance of providing the president with multiple options in case some of the lingering disagreements over the House’s one-bill approach persist. In particular, multiple House and Senate Republicans have expressed concerns about tying the size of the tax package to the amount of spending cuts ultimately achieved. To the extent things drag out with consideration of the House resolution, GOP lawmakers could pivot to the Senate’s approach if President Trump changes his mind, but this remains to be seen.

• Programming note. The Senate’s “vote-a-rama” is expected to begin at some point later in the day. Democrats are poised to offer dozens of amendments aimed at messaging against the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), and consideration of amendments will continue until Senate Democrats yield — possibly late tomorrow morning or early afternoon. Additionally, the Senate will hold a final up-or-down vote on the nomination of Kash Patel to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).