US House Passes Trump-Supported Spending Bill by Narrow Margin

On Tuesday, Republicans in the US House of Representatives narrowly approved a multi-trillion dollar government spending bill, giving a significant lift to President Donald Trump and pushing forward his 2025 agenda.

Most House Republicans believed that the 217-215 vote served as a timely first test for Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, who was forced to cancel an earlier vote by lack of supportive members. 

Some Republicans demanded increasing fiscal responsibility in a budget that contained $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, partly offset by spending cuts but further threatening to elevate an already high national debt for the US government.

However, on party lines, the bill passed, with all Democrats voting against it and one Republican dissenting.

The sole Republican to oppose the bill, Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a well-known proponent for fiscal conservatism, sought even further cuts in expenditures. One Democrat also had not voted.

The House budget aims toward $2 trillion worth in spending cuts in the next decade to fund President Trump's agenda. It also proposes more than $100 billion worth in immigration and defense spending.

Moreover, it would prolong the tax breaks from his first term that expire at the end of the year.

Nonetheless, the expenditure still has many other hurdles to pass before becoming law.

It will need to be reconciled with a different budget that the U.S. Senate is working on at this time.

Even if there is an agreement between the two chambers on the spending plan, so many other details will need to be resolved before sending it to President Trump for his final endorsement.

House Republican leaders had called off a vote on Tuesday when it was doubtful they had the required backing to pass the bill.

Speaker Johnson and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise were trying all evening to convince reticent party members to back the measure, which imposed tax breaks and funding for border security, deportations, and military spending.

According to the two Republican leaders, President Trump personally contacted some of the undecided members, requesting them to vote in favor of the bill.

"Trump helped us with a number of members," Scalise told reporters. "Talking to anybody that we asked that really needed to clarify things."

Three of the four party holdouts, initially expected to vote no Representatives Tim Burchett, Victoria Spartz, and Warren Davidson ended up supporting the bill.

"We have a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we are going to deliver the American First agenda," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters after the vote.

"We're going to celebrate tonight, and we'll roll up our sleeves and get right back in the morning."

Democrats quickly condemned the budget, labeling it a tax cut primarily benefiting the wealthy, which they argued would harm low-income families dependent on the government-funded Medicaid program.

The party made efforts to ensure maximum attendance for the critical vote, with Representative Brittany Petterson even bringing her son to the chamber while on maternity leave.

The Senate will now face pressure to consider the House's spending plan, given President Trump's support for it, despite having introduced a separate bill of its own last week.