After House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) finally cajoled enough colleagues to vote to adopt, in principle, the Senate’s budget resolution on Thursday, the Republican leader chided the skeptical reporters who said it couldn’t be done.
It took promises, persuasion and one postponement of the vote, but Speaker Johnson managed to eke out a 216-214 approval of the resolution, despite the defections of Republican Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Victoria Spartz (Ind.) who voted “Nay.”
The resolution’s passage hinged on the promise that the final version of the Senate budget plan will, ultimately, contain at least $1.5 trillion of additional savings to help pay for the extension of the Trump tax cuts, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D) says Republicans in his chamber are “aligned” with House members’ goal of finding the savings.
“I told you not to doubt us. The media always does. The Democrats always do. But we get the job done,” Speaker Johnson told reporters after the House vote.
The House vote to approve the resolution sets the stage for Republicans to use the reconciliation process to prevent Senate Democrats from filibustering the final budget package. But, even so, crafting the final budget bill promises to be a grueling endeavor, as The Hill explains:
“Now, however, the even tougher part begins. Republicans in both chambers must craft a package that is in line with the levels laid out in the budget resolution and make decisions on a number of hot-button issues like spending cuts, how long the tax cuts are extended for and the cap on the state-and-local-tax deduction, among other details.”