House narrowly OKs budget plan for trillions of dollars in tax and spending cuts

WASHINGTON — The House narrowly adopted a sweeping budget resolution Tuesday night, paving the way for massive tax and spending reductions sought by President Trump — putting several California Republicans in a tricky position over future potential cuts to popular programs such as Medicaid.

The vote came after weeks of intense wrangling by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), and an extraordinary evening of voting, that first saw the lawmakers sent home, only to be called back minutes later to cast their votes on the controversial proposal. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the lone Republican to vote against the measure, joining every Democrat. The final resolution passed, 217 to 215.

Johnson presented a budget blueprint in the form of “one big, beautiful bill” backed by Trump, setting targets for government spending and revenue that would then allow Republicans to pass more detailed legislation later this year.

The speaker’s goal was to present the first large legislative package on the priorities Trump has outlined in his many executive orders, including funding priorities that Johnson says aim to boost immigration restrictions, cut taxes and bolster the economy. The resolution entails $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years.

The proposal directs certain committees to identify where to make those reductions. One of the most controversial programs potentially facing major cuts is Medicaid, which funds healthcare for more than 72 million Americans. The Energy and Commerce Committee, which is responsible for Medicaid, is tasked with cutting $880 billion.

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Republicans representing swing congressional districts in California — including Reps. David Valadao (R-Hanford), Young Kim (R-Anaheim Hills) and Ken Calvert (R-Corona) — voted to support their party’s agenda, setting themselves up for potentially serious blowback in their home communities over the threats to Medicaid.

“This resolution provides a framework for fiscal spending and does not make cuts to any specific programs — it simply allows us to move the ball forward in creating a budget that uses taxpayer dollars as effectively as possible to serve the American people,” Kim said in a statement. “I want to be very clear that I understand how important Medicaid is for many in our community to access health care services.”

Residents have been gathering across Southern California to decry the possible impending cuts. “Rep. Young Kim, don’t take away our healthcare on Tuesday!” said a sign at an Orange County protest Monday.

In Valadao’s 22nd Congressional District, 67% of the population is on Medi-Cal, as Medicaid is known in California — the highest percentage in the state, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center. In a floor speech Tuesday, Valadao acknowledged he came from a district with one of the highest Medicaid populations in the nation.

“I’ve heard from countless constituents who tell me the only way they can afford healthcare is through programs like Medicaid, and I will not support a final reconciliation bill that risks leaving them behind,” he said. “Medicaid cuts are deeply unpopular with the American families who sent us here to deliver on President Trump’s agenda.”

In statements throughout the day, Calvert focused on his priority of extending 2017 tax cuts.

“The Budget Resolution passed today does not specify any cuts to federal programs. I want to make it clear that I do not support cuts to Social Security, Medicare, and the safety net programs our vulnerable Americans rely on,” he said in a post on X, adding that lawmakers “owe it to taxpayers” to find fraud in government-funded programs, including healthcare.

Calvert echoed the party line, as House leaders repeatedly emphasized Tuesday that the budget outline does not include cuts to Medicaid. But Johnson refused to commit to fully funding the program and instead laid the groundwork to justify future cuts.

“Everybody is committed to preserving Medicare benefits for those who desperately need it and deserve it and qualify for it,” Johnson said. “What we’re talking about is rooting out the fraud, waste and abuse.”

Whether the bill would make it to the House floor remained in question late Tuesday, as Johnson raced around the chamber trying to shore up support with his narrow Republican majority. Trump also reportedly got involved, making calls to lawmakers to support the measure.

At one point, House leaders called the last vote of the evening without taking up the budget proposal, and lawmakers left the chamber to go home. But less than 15 minutes later, the vote was back on. House whips hurriedly sent messages to their members, “Return to floor immediately.”

Democratic leaders urged all their members to vote against the budget proposal, forcing Republicans to fall in line behind Johnson — including most who took issue with it. Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) returned from maternity leave to vote in the House, cradling her baby, born less than a month ago. Rep. Kevin Mullin (D-South San Francisco) had to “literally leave his hospital bed in California” to vote with a unified Democratic front, said House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.).

After more than 30 minutes of voting, freshman Rep. Adam Gray (D-Merced), who eked out a victory over Republican incumbent John Duarte in November, entered the room.

“Gray! Gray!” his Democratic colleagues on the floor cried out, shouting at him to cast his vote in time. His vote registered seconds before the gavel fell.

Now that it’s passed, the budget will move into committees for the details to be worked out. But in addition to the Republicans worried about Medicaid, others concerned about the national debt were hoping for deeper spending cuts.

Democrats seized on the potential hit to Medicaid in their messaging in recent weeks, with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee telling supporters in an email over the weekend that Republicans want to “rip away health care and food from American families.”

Congress has until March 14 to pass a budget or risk a government shutdown.