House Republicans fall in line, narrowly pass Trump-backed funding bill



The House narrowly passed a continuing resolution on Tuesday, just days before the Friday funding deadline. The CR is now headed to the Senate, and it's up to the Democrats to avert a government shutdown.

The CR was passed in almost a party-line vote, 217-213, with Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky the sole Republican holdout. Nearly every single Democrat, with the exception of Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted to tank the CR, which was spearheaded by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and President Donald Trump.

With just days until the shutdown deadline, we will see if Democrats would rather vote for the Trump-backed CR or shut down the government altogether.

"Today, House Republicans stood for the American people and voted to maintain funding the paychecks for our troops, the agents who secure our borders, the TSA workers responsible for safe air travel, as well as the healthcare and benefits for veterans, and essential services and programs that keep the government operational," Johnson said in a statement Tuesday. "But House Democrats decided to double down on partisan politics."

The CR itself is a clean 99-page funding bill with certain provisions boosting ICE and defense funds. Despite those increases, the bill reduces spending by $13 billion compared to fiscal year 2024. Because of these cuts, several House Republicans who were on the fence were persuaded to pass the bill.

A lot of the legwork was done behind the scenes in the days leading up to the vote. White House officials like OMB Director Russ Vought met with fiscal conservatives and some members of the House Freedom Caucus to pitch the Trump-backed CR, as Blaze News first reported. Trump also met with the same group of Republicans, many of whom have a history of voting against CRs.

Despite their track record, many Republicans got on board with the most recent CR. The House Freedom Caucus, which is largely composed of spending skeptics, endorsed the CR the night before the vote. HFC Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) even made a rare appearance alongside the Republican leadership in a presser Tuesday morning.

So while House Republicans fall in line behind Trump and the GOP leadership, the pressure now weighs on Senate Democrats. Republicans adjourned immediately after the CR's passage, leaving the Senate to take up the bill without the opportunity to make any amendments.

The Senate will need at least 60 votes to pass the GOP-led CR. Meanwhile, Republicans hold just 53 seats. Assuming all Republicans back the CR — and there are currently some holdouts — at least seven Democrats will need to reach across the aisle to avoid shutting down the government. So far, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is the only Democrat to have signaled support for the CR.

With just days until the shutdown deadline, we will see if Democrats would rather vote for the Trump-backed CR or shut down the government altogether.

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Spending skeptics rally behind Trump's CR pitch as government shutdown looms



With a government shutdown looming over Congress, Republicans have largely united behind President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) pitch to put through a clean continuing resolution.

Although the text for the CR has not been finalized, House Republicans have come out of closed-door meetings with a positive outlook.

As Blaze News first reported, fiscal conservatives and members of the House Freedom Caucus huddled with Director Russell Vought and other top Office of Management and Budget officials on Monday night, with one White House source in the room describing the meeting as "congenial." The optimism carried through Wednesday afternoon when the same Republicans met with Trump to hear his pitch on a clean CR.

'There is overwhelming support to back the president's agenda to be able to advance and to be able to give room for DOGE and Elon Musk and to give room to Russ Vought and OMB to deliver to the American people.'

"Government funding runs out next week, and Democrats are threatening to shut down the Government - But I am working with the GREAT House Republicans on a Continuing Resolution to fund the Government until September to give us some needed time to work on our Agenda," Trump said in a Truth Social post following the meeting.

"Conservatives will love this Bill, because it sets us up to cut Taxes and Spending in Reconciliation, all while effectively FREEZING Spending this year, and allowing us to continue our work to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," Trump said. "VERY IMPORTANT - Let’s get this Bill done!"

The benefit of a clean CR is that it would continue Trump's momentum, whereas a government shutdown would stifle it.

'I will try to convince as many of my colleagues as possible that if this is the tool the president needs, we really have a once in a generation opportunity.'

"If [Trump] thinks that a clean CR, put that in air quotes, clean CR, is the way to go for the rest of the fiscal year ... I'm all for it," HFC Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.) told Blaze News.

"It would be a heavy lift with some conservatives, that’s what they said about the budget resolution and the debt-ceiling increase. But, I think we can achieve this heavy lift," Harris added. "It will take some work over the next week."

To Harris' point, passing a clean CR with such a slim Republican majority will likely be a heavy lift. With respect to reconciliation, Republicans could afford to lose only one vote, and yet, Johnson managed to pull it off.

"I will try to convince as many of my colleagues as possible that if this is the tool the president needs, we really have a 'once in a generation' opportunity," Harris said. "We shouldn't pass it up, because the alternative is to deal with the Democrats."

Republican Rep. Chip Roy (Texas), another past CR skeptic, also came away from closed-door meetings with a positive outlook.

"There is overwhelming support to back the president's agenda to be able to advance and to be able to give room for DOGE and Elon Musk and to give room to Russ Vought and OMB to deliver to the American people," Roy said in a press gaggle Wednesday following the meeting with Trump.

Roy argued that a clean CR would freeze spending at current levels, "which is going to be able to make sure that we hold spending in check" while DOGE and its Capitol Hill allies continue identifying areas of fraud, waste, and abuse.

For other spending skeptics like Republican Rep. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, continuing DOGE-style cuts is a non-negotiable in order to secure their votes.

'I'm looking at it in a favorable manner. But that doesn't mean I'll vote for it.'

Burchett, who has historically defected during spending fights, told Blaze News that so far, he is "not too inspired" by the Republicans' pitch for a clean CR.

"If they would add the cuts from DOGE, all of them, I could lean in that direction," Burchett told Blaze News. "We got elected to do some things, and DOGE is doing it. I think we ought to take that out for a vote and see what happens."

But even with provisions to codify DOGE cuts, Burchett says it may not be enough to swing his vote in favor of the CR.

"I'm looking at it in a favorable manner," Burchett told Blaze News about a DOGE-style CR. "But that doesn't mean I'll vote for it."

Like with reconciliation, Republicans are operating with incredibly narrow margins. Johnson can afford to lose only one GOP vote, which is likely to be claimed by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. With the odds seemingly stacked against them, we will have to wait and see if Republicans can pull off another legislative miracle.

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How the House secured massive spending cuts in the race for reconciliation



House Republicans passed a budget resolution through committee on Thursday, taking back the lead in the race for reconciliation.

Republicans also managed to land on a deal with seven times more spending cuts than their original proposal, and they have the House Freedom Caucus to thank. The budget calls for $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, $4.5 trillion for tax cuts, a $4 trillion debt limit increase, and $300 billion appropriated for defense and border security.

These are all great successes for the GOP, but it wasn't all smooth sailing.

'From the outset of this process, we sought to ensure participation from every member of our conference and make clear that this resolution reflects our collective commitment to enacting the president's full agenda — not just part of it.'

After a weekend retreat at Mar-a-Lago followed by a five-hour-long meeting at the White House, the GOP leadership still had not put forth a budget proposal at the beginning of the week. At that point, the Senate had already sidestepped the House and introduced its own resolution in an attempt to move negotiations forward.

But on Monday afternoon, Blaze News first reported that the House Freedom Caucus dropped its own resolution ahead of the Republican leadership.

"Given the current delay in the House on moving a comprehensive reconciliation bill, moving a smaller targeted bill now makes the most sense to deliver a win for the American people," HFC Chairman Andy Harris said in a statement. "I am proud to introduce the Emergency Border Control Resolution today to set the reconciliation process in motion in the House."

Although the HFC's resolution wasn't advanced, it applied the necessary pressure. Within 48 hours, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) put forth the leadership's budget proposal on Wednesday, teeing it up for markup the following morning.

In a statement following the budget's passage, the House Republican leadership made clear that all factions of the GOP were taken into account during the negotiation process.

"The budget resolution has passed through committee and House Republicans have now cleared a critical hurdle to delivering on the major priorities of President Trump's America First agenda," the statement reads. "From the outset of this process, we sought to ensure participation from every member of our conference and make clear that this resolution reflects our collective commitment to enacting the president's full agenda — not just part of it."

"This is the start of the process, and we remain laser-focused on ultimately sending a bill to President Trump's desk which, among other things, secures the border, keeps taxes low for families and job creators, restores American energy dominance, and makes government work better for all Americans."

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House Freedom Caucus takes the reins on reconciliation



The House Freedom Caucus has taken the initiative and introduced its own budgetary resolution on Monday to kick-start the reconciliation process, while Republican leadership continues negotiations.

Dubbed the Emergency Border Control Resolution, the budget contains crucial funding for several border and military provisions, cuts hundreds of billions in spending, and raises the debt ceiling by $4 trillion. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris said the caucus has taken matters into its own hands because of the delayed negotiations among the Republican leadership.

'Given the current delay in the House on moving a comprehensive reconciliation bill, moving a smaller targeted bill now makes the most sense to deliver a win for the American people.'

"President Trump was elected with a mandate to close the southern border, stop the flood of illegal aliens, begin repatriations of those here illegally, and restore accountability to our government," Harris said in a press release obtained by Blaze News. "The House Freedom Caucus has always believed that Congress must rapidly give the president the funds he needs to do this."

This budget proposal would be the first of two bills intended to address reconciliation. This approach contrasts with the goal of Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to put forward "one big beautiful bill" that would address both border and tax policy.

"Given the current delay in the House on moving a comprehensive reconciliation bill, moving a smaller targeted bill now makes the most sense to deliver a win for the American people," Harris added. "I am proud to introduce the Emergency Border Control Resolution today to set the reconciliation process in motion in the House."

The House Freedom Caucus introduced its budgetary resolution just days after the Senate put out its own proposal on Friday.

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Johnson narrowly secures speakership despite Republican defectors



The House narrowly elected Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for a second term in the first round of votes on Friday.

In the final tally, Johnson received 218 votes, the bare minimum to secure the speakership. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) received 215 votes.

Seven Republicans, including Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, initially skipped out on the election, later changing their vote to Johnson. Three Republicans initially voted for other members entirely. Republican Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina voted for Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, and Rep. Keith Self of Texasa voted for Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida, although they both eventually changed their votes to Johnson.

Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only member in the final tally who voted against Johnson, opting instead for House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.).

Given the Republicans' narrow, four-seat majority, Johnson could afford only one "no" vote, which Massie claimed leading up to Friday. In addition to Massie, several Republicans like Roy expressed hesitancy about supporting Johnson, citing fiscal concerns.

'Republicans have a mandate to implement the America First Agenda, and as Speaker, this will be my priority.'

"We saw this movie in 2023, and everyone knows the sequel always sucks," Republican Rep. Mike Collins of Georgia said in an X post following the vote.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) hold a press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate on April 12, 2024, in Palm Beach, Florida. Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Just minutes before the House was set to vote for a speaker, Johnson released a lengthy commitment to "return to fiscal sanity" in a last-ditch attempt to appeal to the potential defectors and secure his second term.

"Republicans have a real opportunity in the next two years to make meaningful spending reforms to eliminate trillions in waste, fraud, and abuse, and end the weaponization of government," Johnson said. "Along with advancing President Trump’s America First agenda, I will lead the House Republicans to reduce the size and scope of the federal government, hold the bureaucracy accountable, and move the United States to a more sustainable fiscal trajectory."

"If we want to restore fiscal responsibility, we must start by being transparent about the dollars that are spent, address the issues we find, and then hold those accountable who have misspent funds," Johnson continued. "Republicans have a mandate to implement the America First Agenda, and as Speaker, this will be my priority."

Despite the tumultuous end-of-year spending fight, Johnson also secured President-elect Donald Trump's endorsement on Monday, as well as a last-minute boost of "good luck" on Friday just hours before the 119th Congress was gaveled in.

"Good luck today for Speaker Mike Johnson, a fine man of great ability, who is very close to having 100% support," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "A win for Mike today will be a big win for the Republican Party, and yet another acknowledgment of our 129 year most consequential Presidential Election!! - A BIG AFFIRMATION, INDEED. MAGA!"

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EXCLUSIVE: Nancy Pelosi’s Library Visit Turned Campaign Stop May Have Violated IRS Rules

'Endorsing and campaigning for presidential candidates at nonprofit organizations is prohibitedactivity'