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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Trump tears into Thomas Massie over CR opposition: 'HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED'



President Donald Trump lashed out at Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who said on Monday that he would vote against the GOP-led continuing resolution.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can afford to lose only one Republican vote on the CR given his party's historically narrow House majority. Democrats have also vowed to vote against the CR, leaving Johnson with the challenge of rallying every Republican behind the bill.

Massie, arguably the most principled fiscal conservative in Congress, already claimed the sole "no" vote the conference can spare, adding to the mounting pressure on Republicans. Trump, in turn, took to Truth Social to air his grievances.

'Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election. Guess what? Doesn’t work on me.'

"Congressman Thomas Massie, of beautiful Kentucky, is an automatic 'NO' vote on just about everything, despite the fact that he has always voted for Continuing Resolutions in the past," Trump said. "HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED, and I will lead the charge against him."

"He's just another GRANDSTANDER, who's too much trouble, and not worth the fight," Trump added. "He reminds me of Liz Cheney before her historic, record breaking fall (loss!). The people of Kentucky won't stand for it, just watch."

While Trump's condemnation would have worked on most Republicans, Massie has been famously immune to the political pressures of GOP leadership, and that includes the president.

Behind the scenes, Republican leadership has been hustling to get the CR passed.

"Someone thinks they can control my voting card by threatening my re-election," Massie said. "Guess what? Doesn’t work on me. Three times I’ve had a challenger who tried to be more MAGA than me. None busted 25% because my constituents prefer transparency and principles over blind allegiance."

Massie is always considered an immovable "no" vote in every spending fight, leaving the rest of the Republican conference to sink or swim. Apart from Massie, several Republicans are still on the fence about Tuesday's CR vote, including Reps. Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Cory Mills of Florida, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Rich McCormick of Georgia, Beth Van Duyne of Texas, Kat Cammack of Florida, Andy Ogles of Tennessee, and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

Despite some holdouts, Johnson is gunning for a repeat of February's reconciliation vote, where Republicans voted in lockstep to get the budget blueprint passed, with Massie as the only exception.

Behind the scenes, Republican leadership has been hustling to get the CR passed.

OMB Director Russ Vought met with members of the House Freedom Caucus and adjacent fiscal conservatives in early March to pitch the Trump-backed funding bill ahead of the vote, as Blaze News first reported. Trump also met with the same group 48 hours later in order to rally remaining Republican holdouts. As a result, the HFC officially endorsed the CR despite historically opposing CRs generally.

It's clear that Republicans are putting in the work. Now we will have to wait and see if it pays off.

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Senate Democrats in the hot seat as government shutdown looms



Capitol Hill is going full speed ahead with Friday's funding deadline fast approaching.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is rallying Republicans behind his continuing resolution that was released over the weekend, and House Democrats are digging their heels in. But despite Republicans' historically narrow advantage in the House, it seems that this time around, fiscal conservatives may not be the reason the government is headed toward a shutdown.

If the CR passes the House like many are predicting, all the pressure will weigh on Senate Democrats.

Johnson pulled off a legislative miracle in late February when the House successfully passed his reconciliation budget blueprint. Although every House Democrat voted against the blueprint, House Republicans unified behind Johnson and President Donald Trump's resolution, with Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky being the sole GOP defector.

With respect to the CR, Johnson is looking to continue this winning streak.

Much like reconciliation, Johnson's CR secured Trump's blessing over the weekend. Additionally, fiscal conservatives and some members of the House Freedom Caucus met with Trump and other White House officials like Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought in an attempt to reel in any holdouts, as Blaze News first reported. In the aftermath of these closed-door meetings, it seems that the House's spending skeptics are falling in line, setting the stage for another near-unanimous GOP vote.

House Democrats have already made it clear that they have no intention of backing the CR, and Massie has already claimed the sole Republican "no" vote Johnson can afford. Even still, politicos are forecasting a legislative win for Republicans on Tuesday night.

If the CR passes the House like many are predicting, all the pressure will weigh on Senate Democrats.

Voting against the CR would make Democrats responsible for a government shutdown, a consequence most politicians try to avoid at all costs.

Although Republicans have a comfortable 53-seat majority in the Senate, the Trump-backed funding bill will need to clear the 60-vote threshold as opposed to a simple majority. Assuming there are no Republican holdouts, which isn't a guarantee, the CR will need the support of at least seven Senate Democrats to pass. So far, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is the only Democrat to have signaled support for the CR.

Consequently, Senate Democrats are faced with a tough choice. Democrats oppose the CR for various ideological reasons, protesting added provisions for ICE and the cuts to community projects. On the other hand, voting against the CR would make Democrats responsible for a government shutdown, a consequence most politicians try to avoid at all costs.

With just days until the funding deadline, it's up to Democrats to see if the government lights will stay on.

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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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House Freedom Caucus to censure Al Green following Trump speech meltdown



The House Freedom Caucus wasted no time in censuring Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas on Wednesday after he repeatedly interrupted President Donald Trump's address to a joint session of congress Tuesday night.

Just minutes into Trump's historic address, Green stood up and waved his cane from the House floor, shouting, "You have no mandate!" After he ignored a warning from Speaker Mike Johnson, the sergeant at arms removed Green from the House chamber.

'Democrats are clearly still coping with the fact that their policies don’t work and the American people don’t trust them anymore.'

"The President's address to tonight’s joint session of Congress is a constitutional obligation — not a sideshow for Democrats to use noisemakers, make threats, throw things or otherwise disrupt," HFC said in a statement ahead of the address.

Speaker Johnson directs the Sergeant-at-Arms to restore order and remove Democrat Rep. Al Green from the chamber: pic.twitter.com/Lx6pvCMYOR
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) March 5, 2025

"Our colleagues are on notice that the heckler's veto will not be tolerated," the statement continued. "You will be censured. We expect the Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police to take appropriate action against any Members of Congress or other persons violating House rules.”

The following morning, HFC confirmed that it will introduce a resolution to censure Green following his stunt.

"Rep. Al Green should be censured for his childish behavior on the House floor last night," Republican Rep. Eli Crane of Arizona, a HFC member, said Wednesday. "Democrats are clearly still coping with the fact that their policies don’t work and the American people don’t trust them anymore. HFC members are drafting a censure resolution."

Other Republicans have also drafted their own resolutions to censure Green, including Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas and Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington.

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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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