Houses Passes Budget Resolution, First Step Toward Advancing Trump Agenda
“It’s sort of the kickoff in what will be a four-quarter game, and that very important, very consequential game begins as soon as we get this thing passed.”
Despite skepticism, House Republicans narrowly passed the GOP’s budget resolution on Tuesday evening by a vote of 217-215. Every Democrat opposed the measure, while Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the sole Republican dissenter.
Other Republican holdouts included Reps. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), Warren Davidson (R-OH), and Tim Burchett (R-TN). In the end, however, all three supported the resolution.
Ahead of the vote, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) told reporters, “On a vote like this, you’re always going to have people you’re talking to all the way through the close of the vote.” This is certainly true of Republicans. But Democrats, regardless of what transpires behind closed doors, typically present a united front.
At any rate, after a hard-fought battle, Speaker Mike Johnson secured the win thanks to a crucial boost from President Donald Trump. This victory paves the way for Republicans to advance Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” which includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending reductions over the next decade.
The House just PASSED the Republican Budget Resolution to jumpstart President Trump’s America First Agenda!
Here’s the truth: this budget does NOT cut Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.
This budget will allow us to lower taxes, cut energy costs, secure the border,… pic.twitter.com/XcLx86V90J
— Congressman Tim Moore (@RepTimMooreNC) February 26, 2025
The New York Times reported that passage “came after a head-spinning hour in which Republican leaders tried to put down a revolt among conservatives who wanted deeper spending cuts, failed to do so, canceled the budget vote and then reversed course minutes later and summoned lawmakers to call the roll.”
Passage of this resolution was an essential first step for the GOP toward advancing the Trump agenda through Congress by reconciliation, a process that allows such legislation to pass the Senate by a simple majority vote (51 votes or 50 votes plus the vice president’s tie-breaking vote), avoiding the possibility of a filibuster.
Ahead of the vote, Johnson told reporters, “It’s sort of the kickoff in what will be a four-quarter game, and that very important, very consequential game begins as soon as we get this thing passed. This has been necessary because we promised to deliver President Trump’s full agenda, not just a part of it. We’re not just going to do a little bit now and return later for the rest. We have to do it now.”
#BREAKING: House Speaker Mike Johnson talks to reporters after the House adopted its GOP budget resolution.
In a 217-215 vote, only Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) joined all Democrats in voting “no” on the measure, allowing the resolution to survive. It now heads to the Senate, where… pic.twitter.com/9p7UkMBw82
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) February 26, 2025
The Wall Street Journal noted that the win was “a sign that the Republican-controlled Congress might be able to deliver major legislation despite slim majorities in the House and Senate.”
Still, the Journal pointed out that despite the resolution’s passage, “the path ahead isn’t straightforward.”
Tuesday’s vote sets up a conflict with the Senate, which favors larger tax cuts and plans to alter the House plan rather than accept it. That means another nail-biting House budget vote is on the horizon.
And even after the House and Senate agree on a budget, lawmakers will have to negotiate hundreds of details on taxes, healthcare, energy and food stamps before they can get a bill to Trump’s desk.
“Just one big step,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington(R., Texas) after the vote. “One small step for Budget Committee, one big step for mankind.”
Regardless of the battles to come, the Trump agenda overcame its first major obstacle on Tuesday night. Had this resolution failed to pass, it would have significantly hindered Republicans’ efforts to advance Trump’s legislative agenda through Congress. It may also have dealt a blow to Johnson’s longevity as speaker.
Nothing can diminish the fact that this victory was a vital first step toward delivering America from the harm inflicted upon it from four years of progressive governance.
Elizabeth writes commentary for The Washington Examiner. She is an academy fellow at The Heritage Foundation and a member of the Editorial Board at The Sixteenth Council, a London think tank. Please follow Elizabeth on X or LinkedIn.
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Comments
Massie needs to grow up.
I bet he’ll be primaried.
He just was and crushed his opponent.
Politics is the art of the compromise. He doesn’t know how to compromise. Yet another example of people blindly voting because of the initial next to the name (in this case R instead of usual D).
If you and I disagree on the proper ingredients to make a punch bowl for the party how much poison should I agree to let you put in there as a comprise?
Extreme example? Sure. The bill passed. Massie voted against it and stated why. I suspect, just like many times before his reasoning will be borne out. I would prefer a politician like Massie who sticks to his guns v the wishy washy/go along get along attitude of most DC politicians that delivered $36+ Trillion in on the books Federal debt and well over 3x that in unfunded liabilities.
We can afford a Thomas Massie in the HoR to raise the arguments and make the case for dramatic cuts in federal spending which also coincides with a smaller federal govt with less scope, less reach, less power and a far less intrusive federal gov’t focused on core essential tasks not trampling individual liberty. .
He would have voted for it if that was the case.
We have a $36 Trillion+ federal debt. We had federal revenue last year of $4 and 1/2 Trillion ish. We spent over $6.2 Trillion. That’s an annual deficit of a little more than $1.7 Trillion.
The HoR bill here doesn’t cut one dime of spending. It RAISES federal spending. Under the absolute best case ten year projections made this bill will ADD to the existing Federal Debt. How much? Best Case?
1st year $328 Billion
2nd year $295 Billion
3rd year. $248 Billion
In fact no deficit reduction is protected until year 5 at the earliest…under BEST case projections. So no added expenditures for say a Hurricane or Wildfires…
If you spend $1 per second it adds up to just a bit over $86K per day. So it takes about 11 and 1/2 days to reach $1 Million. Here were looking at a best case scenario in this bill of ADDING nearly $1 Trillion to the Federal Debt $851 billion in the first 3 years alone. To get to $1 Trillion at a burn rate of $1 per second takes over 31,680 years. IOW it’s a nearly incomprehensible amount.
IMO ‘Grown ups’ in Comgress should stop spending money they don’t have. Make the draconian cuts needed to balance the damn federal budget, then start paying off the deficit. Stop burdening our children and grandchildren with drunken sailor spending sprees every dang year with no end in sight.
excellent post. Not to worry though. Trump’s tarriffs will bring in enough revenue to balance the budget. HAHAHAHA
The threat of tariffs has already caused rethinking among corporations about where to build.
Lets add shipping to the requirements. Start with a flat tariff 10% add on for all goods transported by Foreign built vessels then add 10% for non US Maritime Crewed vessels.
That sparks revenue and shipbuilding in the US. Mercedes,Toyota, Honda, Airbus among other foreign companies have production lines in Alabama. Other companies have plants in the US. Goods produced within the USA won’t be hit with a tariff. Sparks more investment in domestic manufacturing.
IOW all this leads to new and higher paying jobs… Which is handy b/c those provide a salary/benefits and the disposable to become a consumer in the first place. Not to mention the tax revenue from those jobs; sales tax,.property tax, SSA contributions, income tax …
They were no ones with no money.
Thomas Massie Republican Party $1,349,142 $690,223 $907,010
Eric Deters Republican Party $0 $0 $0
Michael McGinnis Republican Party $0 $0 $0
Benjamin Middendorf Independent $0 $0 $0
Money Columns are:
Receipts
Disbrursements
Cash on Hand
This is of 12/31/24
How much did third-party lobbying and special interest PAC spend in the ’24 primary to get rid of Massie?
AIPAC alone spent more than $5 million to try and defeat Rep Massie in the ’24 primary.
Don’t know. All I know is that his competition didn’t report any monies raised or spent and the democrats didn’t run anyone. Any third party money spent was wasted.
Here we go Republicans proving government is bad by being bad at governing
Massie is correct. The Congressional GOP aren’t going to cut spending or impeach any judges.
Not unless made by their constituents to do so….many of whom are themselves beneficiaries of Big Gov’t spending. The usual attitude of ‘my program = good, while other programs I don’t benefit from = bad so cut a different one’ isn’t gonna result in very many spending cuts.
For half a century government bloat has occurred because it hasn’t hit the average voter’s pocket book.
We are about to see the converse of that.
So much of government bloat provides no value to the average voter that they will not miss a bit of it when it is gone.
My life will actually be a lot better.
The redhat rubes believe :1) That DOGE will make significant cuts in Govt spending and 2) those savings will be passed on to them in the form of tax cuts.
excellent post. Not to worry though. Trump’s tarriffs will bring in enough revenue to balance the budget. HAHAHAHA
Notice the Dems are still voting – a party line vote. They still hate America and will do anything in their power to destroy it, in the name of “democracy.”