President Donald Trump is ratcheting up pressure on House Republicans to get going on a budget vote, with dozens opposing the plan or undecided. But things are looking dicey.
After a White House meeting failed to seal the deal, Trump tried one more time at Tuesday evening’s NRCC dinner. It came as House GOP leaders pushed hard to set up Wednesday’s 8:45 a.m. Rules Committee meeting to start advancing the budget resolution.
“Close your eyes and get there,” Trump said Tuesday night. “Stop grandstanding.”
With Trump bearing down, Speaker Mike Johnson is facing one of the biggest internal revolts so far this year. He only has a couple days to turn things around before members leave town for a two-week recess and potentially rob Trump of a win as he faces a global backlash over his “Liberation Day” tariffs. While we’ve seen conservatives defy Johnson before, this time deficit hawks across the conference are digging in to get deeper cuts to federal spending.
Trump may have made things harder for Johnson Tuesday. After meeting with holdouts at the White House, Trump declared on Truth Social that he hoped for spending cuts “in excess of $1 Trillion Dollars” – a number that isn’t going to fly with House fiscal hawks looking for more.
“I’m right now a no unless I can be convinced that the Senate actually means that they would cut $1.5 or 2 trillion in spending,” Rep. Eric Burlison told POLITICO.
What else we’re watching:
– Amid the tariff turmoil: House Republicans will get their crack at U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer today when he heads before Ways and Means at 10 a.m. GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis said she’ll press for answers on the progress Trump is making toward cutting deals with other countries. But Trump said Tuesday night that “we don’t necessarily want to make a deal with them.”
– Meta under fire: Sarah Wynn-Williams, the former director of global public policy at Facebook, will testify this morning that Meta company executives lied about their involvement with China and willingness to censor on their sites. Meta has pushed back on these claims. Senators are set to press her on Meta’s work to develop a presence in China.
– Crypto coming up: House Financial Services and Agriculture are having separate hearings today on crypto legislation that would revamp regulation of digital asset trading. House Financial Services Chair French Hill says: “You’ll see us use the next few weeks as a way to listen to stakeholders, get feedback from the administration.”
Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
