The House of Representatives narrowly passed a multi-trillion-dollar budget resolution on Tuesday, marking a critical step forward in the effort to implement President Trump’s agenda. The resolution passed by a vote of 217-215, with all Republicans except Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) voting in favor. The vote split along party lines, with all Democrats joining Massie in opposing the measure.
The vote came after weeks of uncertainty, as several House Republicans had opposed a continuing resolution that would have raised the debt ceiling through 2026. President Trump urged Republican lawmakers to pass one “big, beautiful bill” to ensure the administration’s agenda could be enacted before the 2026 midterm elections. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) met with potential holdouts in his office on Monday, while President Trump had discussions with several Republicans who opposed the continuing resolution in the previous cycle.
“We got it done,” Johnson said after the vote. “This is the first important step in opening up the reconciliation process. We have a lot of hard work ahead of us. We are going to deliver the America First agenda.” Three conservative members, Reps. Tim Burchett (R-TN), Warren Davidson (R-OH), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN), were considered potential holdouts but ultimately voted in favor of the legislation.
“There’s no quid pro quo but the president assured me that he would work toward cuts and he’s never lied to me,” Burchett, a strong supporter of President Trump’s proposed spending cuts, said after the vote. “He’s always been honest about it.” Earlier in the day, Johnson seemed ready to send lawmakers home for the night, as it appeared unlikely that the bill would pass. However, just moments later, he unexpectedly called members back to the floor for a vote.
After the vote, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) explained how the president played a key role in convincing some last-minute holdouts. “Trump helped us with a number of members. Look, Trump has been an incredible ally in this whole process. Talking to anybody that we asked that really needed to clarify things,” Scalise told reporters. “I’m not going to talk about who Trump talked to and what they talked about. I wasn’t privy to those conversations.”
Following the passage of the resolution, relevant committees will begin working on their own proposals, which will eventually be incorporated into the broader framework and negotiated into a final deal with the Republican-controlled Senate. While the Senate passed its own budget framework last week, President Trump has expressed support for the House resolution, intensifying pressure to ensure the final version closely resembles the one passed today.
The budget measure includes approximately $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, with a target of $2 trillion in spending cuts. It also allocates about $100 billion in additional funding for immigration enforcement and defense spending. Additionally, the bill mandates that the House Energy and Commerce Committee identify $880 billion in cuts to federal programs.