Evening Report — Moment of truth for House GOP budget proposal

The Hill

25-02-2025

TRUMP FIRST 100 DAYS
House GOP budget resolution teeters on the brink
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON (R-La.) and House GOP leaders are scrambling to secure support for their budget resolution to implement President Trump 's agenda, but the math looks grim at the moment.
At least four Republicans have said they plan to vote against the measure.
Johnson can only afford to lose one Republican if all Democrats vote against it, as expected.
The vote is tentatively scheduled for 6 p.m. ET tonight after advancing along a party-line vote earlier in the day.
Johnson and his GOP leadership team are feverishly whipping votes, but a postponement could be in the works if the support isn't there.
'There may be a vote tonight, may not be,' Johnson said. 'Stay tuned.'
Democratic absences could potentially push the GOP budget proposal to a narrow victory. Four Democrats were missing from this morning's votes. If that holds, Johnson could potentially survive three GOP defections.
Early in the process, it appeared Republican moderates concerned about potential cuts to Medicaid could sink the resolution.
But GOP leaders emphasized that they believe they can find adequate Medicaid savings in the final bill without cutting payments.
Now, it's the GOP fiscal hawks that are staging a minor revolt.
Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.), Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) and Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said they plan to vote against the measure because it doesn't do enough to address the deficit.
'If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better,' Massie posted on X.
A TOUGH SPOT FOR JOHNSON
Johnson is in a bit of a bind.
He can't slash Medicaid, a primary driver of government spending, for risk of losing GOP moderates.
A new poll found 71 percent of Trump voters oppose Medicaid cuts. Trump has previously vowed not to touch Social Security, Medicaid or Medicare payments.
However, the current proposed spending cuts aren't enough to satisfy GOP fiscal hawks.
Trump has endorsed Johnson's 'big, beautiful bill,' which includes all of his policy priorities, including tax cuts and border security funding.
The Senate last week passed its own budget resolution with relative ease, breaking the tax cuts and spending initiatives into separate bills.
'The longer we go, the more likely that is,' Cole said.
💡 Perspectives:
• Chris Stirewalt: Will the working-class GOP really cut health insurance?
• The Liberal Patriot: How should Dems respond to Trump's early actions?
• The Wall Street Journal: Trump sweeps out Biden's officers.
• Salon: Can Trump actually ban DEI? The confusion is the point.
• City Journal: How left-wing activism corrupted America's schools.
Read more:
• Democrats warn of 'largest Medicaid cut in American history.'
• Dems see GOP's Tillis as vulnerable after Hegseth, Gabbard votes.
• Student loan borrowers face abrupt 180 amid GOP budget plans.
CATCH UP QUICK
A federal judge indefinitely blocked the Trump administration's freeze of federal funding, dealing a blow to President Trump's sweeping efforts to realign government spending with his agenda.
The White House will take over which outlets are allowed into the press pool covering the president, taking control from the White House Correspondents Association amid a feud over the 'Gulf of America' with The Associated Press.
Republicans are pushing new FBI Director Kash Patel to release records related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Attorney General Pam Bondi said last week the file is sitting on her desk for review.
The White House disclosed the name of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) administrator: Amy Gleason.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit the White House on Friday, Trump told reporters Tuesday.
NEWS THIS AFTERNOON
Musk deadline comes and goes amid confusion, pushback
Elon Musk's deadline for federal workers to prove their worth over email or lose their jobs has passed, although the ramifications are still unclear.
The Trump administration appeared to backtrack on Musk's order, with the Office of Personnel Management telling government workers their participation was 'voluntary.'
However, hours before the midnight deadline Musk declared for a second time that failure to respond to his email would lead to termination.
Several federal agencies, including newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, instructed their employees to disregard Musk's demand.
Musk will attend Trump's first Cabinet meeting Wednesday, along with several agency heads that told their employees to ignore the order.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Musk's email, saying that more than 1 million people had chosen to respond to 'this very simple task.'
However, she said the agency heads would ultimately decide what's best for their employees.
'The agency heads will determine the best practices for their employees at their specific agencies,' Leavitt said.
Republican senators are fed up, expressing frustration both with Musk's chaotic process and his lack of empathy for government workers.
A sampling:
'I think that any process you undergo where you're trying to find efficiencies, if that involves reductions in force, it needs to be done in a respectful way, obviously respectful of the people involved,' said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).
'I don't think it was handled very well in terms of the surprise element of it or what the point of it was,' said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.).
Here's the latest on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE):
• More than 20 staffers in an office overtaken by DOGE have resigned.
• The Department of Veterans Affairs fired another 1,400 employees, adding to the more than 1,000 workers who were axed earlier this month.
• The bank accounts of nonprofits administering a $20 billion climate program have been frozen as the Trump administration scrutinizes the program.
• The Office of the Special Counsel determined that six probationary employees were improperly terminated and asked an employment body to intervene. That move could impact thousands of recently fired employees.
💡 Perspectives:
• The Washington Post: Deficit-funded stimulus checks? No thanks.
• The Hill: Moving fast and breaking things doesn't work in government.
• The Hill: Bring down the DOGE hammer on the Pentagon.
Washington roundup: Border crossings hit 15-year low
The Trump administration is boasting about hitting a 15-year low in border crossings, with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying there were only 200 encounters over the weekend.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D) is closing the Roosevelt Hotel migrant center, which had been used to process refugees and asylum seekers in New York City.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt cited an Associated Press report Tuesday detailing a 'reverse migration effect,' in which migrants that made the dangerous trek to the U.S. border turn around and go home.
However, the Trump administration suffered several setbacks in the courts.
A federal judge blocked the administration from suspending the U.S. refugee program, which was enacted on Trump's first day in office.
And another federal judge blocked the Trump administration from conducting immigration raids at Quaker, Baptist and Sikh places of worship.
Senate Democrats are also challenging the Trump administration's transfer of migrants to detention centers in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
• After a month delay, President Trump says tariffs on two of America's largest trade partners are 'on time' and 'on schedule.'
Trump says he'll slap a 25 percent levy on goods coming from Canada and Mexico beginning March 4, unless those countries make further concessions to satisfy the president's demands on trade and border security.
There are also questions about the status of a U.S.-China trade rule Trump canceled and then reinstated earlier this month. The rule provoked confusion around package deliveries from China and an outcry from businesses.