Indiana's Victoria Spartz one of just two House Republicans to vote against Trump budget

Yahoo

10-04-2025

U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz was one of only two Republicans to vote against a GOP budget that narrowly passed Thursday, writing on X that the plan is "setting us up for the largest deficit increase in the history of our Republic."
The Hamilton County congresswoman, who worked in accounting and finance before taking office in 2020, has long focused on the country's financial situation. Spartz threatened to resign from office in late 2023 if a commission was not established to study the national debt.
In December 2024, Spartz said she would not caucus with other House Republicans.
"I would rather spend my energy helping President Trump, his appointees and DOGE to deliver on their promises through reconciliation," she wrote in a statement about the decision.
Thursday's bill, which will allow President Donald Trump to enact much of his legislative agenda, was narrowly approved with a 216-214 vote along party lines.
No Democrats voted for the bill. Two Republicans abstained from the vote, along with one Democrat.
Though the resolution will allow President Trump to enact much of his legislative agenda, ultraconservative members of the Freedom Caucus and deficit hawks refused to vote for the existing plan Wednesday night over concerns that it would lead to a skyrocketing national debt.
All Republican holdouts except Spartz and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky relented after House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune announced Thursday morning that they would find $1.5 trillion in cuts as part of the package. Their joint statement indicates that Congress could make significant changes to Medicaid and other benefit programs.
"I appreciate efforts of my colleagues, but the instructions we voted on today are still setting us up for the largest deficit increase in the history of our Republic, & opening up a 'pandora's box' by changing accounting rules to hide it," Spartz said on X. "In good conscience, I couldn't vote YES."
The vote came after days of intense pressure from Trump and his advisers. Trump told House Republicans at a fundraiser Tuesday night: "Close your eyes and get there."
The resolution approved Thursday will be the blueprint for a massive bill that Republicans hope to pass through a process known as "reconciliation," which avoids the need for a supermajority to overcome a filibuster in the Senate. That would allow the measure to pass in both chambers of Congress with only Republican votes.
The package will eventually include Trump's priorities for border security, domestic energy production and taxes. If it passes, it would be the marquee law of his second term in office.
Frank Mrvan, Democrat, 1st Congressional District: No
Rudy Yakym, Republican, 2nd Congressional District: Yes
Marlin Stutzman, Republican, 3rd Congressional District: Yes
James Baird, Republican, 4th Congressional District: Yes
Victoria Spartz, Republican, 5th Congressional District: No
Jefferson Shreve, Republican, 6th Congressional District: Yes
André Carson, Democrat, 7th Congressional District: No
Mark Messmer, Republican, 8th Congressional District: Yes
Erin Houchin, Republican, 9th Congressional District: Yes
The skeleton plan both the Senate and House have now agreed to lays out separate spending instructions for Trump's legislation that will ultimately be hammered out between the chambers and fleshed out with detailed policy.
The Senate's plan would allow them to lock in the tax cuts implemented during Trump's first term, which are set to expire this year, an incredibly expensive endeavor that would add an estimated $3.8 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years.
The Senate's plan would also allow for an additional $1.5 trillion in tax cuts, leaving room for Trump's plans to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime and other tax priorities. It requires virtually no spending cuts but has a non-binding target of eventually finding $2 trillion in savings over 10 years.
The Senate plan would also raise the debt ceiling by $5 trillion, which would avoid a looming default on the federal debt and help Republicans avoid negotiating on the extension with Democrats.
The blueprint also instructs the House to follow separate rules, which required finding at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years.
The House's plan also allows for an extension of Trump's 2017 tax cuts and allocates $300 billion for spending on defense and border security.
Several Republicans and Democrats in both chambers are concerned that the blueprint will lead to significant cuts to Medicaid, the health insurance program that provides coverage to 72 million low-income Americans.
The House's instructions include a directive to cut $880 billion from the jurisdiction of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which nonpartisan experts have said is not possible to meet without slashing Medicaid.
Several GOP lawmakers, including Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, have said they cannot support the final package if it includes significant cuts to Medicaid.
But Hawley voted to approve the Senate's blueprint, saying that he'd spoken with Trump "for a good bit," who "told me the House will NOT cut Medicaid benefits and the Senate will NOT cut Medicaid benefits and he won't sign any benefit cuts."
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at [e-mail].
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana's Victoria Spartz votes against Trump budget, citing deficit