House Budget Committee Failed To Advance Trump Bill

President Donald Trump’s signature legislative proposal—his much-touted “one big, beautiful bill”—has begun to navigate its way through Capitol Hill, but not without turbulence. What was once billed as a sweeping, unifying package of tax cuts, entitlement reform, and spending rollbacks nearly collapsed under the weight of Republican infighting—before being resuscitated during a late-night committee session on Sunday.

THE HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE has passed the Republicans' reconciliation package.

17-16, with 4 present.

JOHNSON gets the bill out of the committee. But there is A LOT of more work to do here

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 19, 2025

On Friday, the House Budget Committee delivered a stunning blow, rejecting the bill in a 16-21 vote, with five Republican members breaking ranks to side with Democrats. Their concerns weren’t over the spirit of the bill, but its specifics—or more precisely, its lack of sharper spending cuts and aggressive entitlement reform.

House Rs are in intense talks with hardliners about changes to bill — which is expected to make implementation of Medicaid work requirements sooner and more quickly phase out green energy tax credits.

But at Sunday night Budget Committee, Rs not detailing what changes on table

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 19, 2025

Conservative stalwarts like Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) demanded the legislation do more to slash the deficit, reform benefits, and dismantle climate subsidies still embedded in remnants of the Inflation Reduction Act. Roy and others also insisted on a firmer rollback of what they dubbed the “Green New Scam.”

Their revolt underscored a deep rift within the GOP: those who see political survival in pragmatism versus those who demand fiscal purity and structural overhaul. And while Rep. Smucker noted that his procedural “no” vote was intended to preserve reconsideration, the political optics were damaging, giving Democrats like Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) an opportunity to declare premature victory:

“We just stopped the Republican budget bill in committee.”

Trump, fresh off a whirlwind Middle East diplomacy tour, wasted no time in blasting dissenters from his Truth Social platform. He called on Republicans to “UNITE” and warned that failure to pass the bill would lead to tax hikes he estimated at 65%, placing blame squarely on the shoulders of disunity and delay:

“We don’t need GRANDSTANDERS in the Republican Party... It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us.”

His message was both a call to arms and a thinly veiled threat to lawmakers eyeing reelection under the Trump-led GOP banner.

That pressure campaign, combined with intensive weekend negotiations, produced results. By Sunday night, the House Budget Committee reversed course, narrowly passing the revised reconciliation package 17-16, with four members marking themselves as “present”—a calculated move that allowed the bill to advance without requiring them to give it full support.

Sources involved in the reconciliation talks say that the four hardline conservatives -- norman, roy, clyde and brecheen -- are still pushing for FMAP changes.

This has been a line that moderates have not been willing to cross.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) May 19, 2025

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) appeared at the vote unannounced, signaling the stakes and personally assuring reporters that the legislation would likely receive “minor modifications” ahead of a full House vote. Johnson’s presence was as symbolic as it was tactical, serving as a reminder that the leadership was fully invested in moving this bill forward—and willing to accommodate enough dissenters to do so.

With the House Budget Committee hurdle cleared, the path is set for a chamber-wide vote. But the ultimate fate of Trump’s bill still hangs in the balance. The Senate GOP majority is narrow, and several Republican senators have already signaled discomfort over the bill’s handling of Medicaid rollbacks and sweeping green energy cuts.

Key flashpoints remain:

• The SALT cap (State and Local Tax deduction) remains contentious for Republicans from high-tax states.

• Medicaid reform could alienate moderates and fuel a fresh round of opposition.

• Energy policy rollbacks risk attracting intense lobbying from both environmental groups and corporate sectors benefiting from green subsidies.