Democrats were eager to mock their Republican colleagues for being unable to unify behind Johnson’s legislation throughout the evening, while trashing the GOP’s priorities for spending cuts, an indication of just how surprising Johnson’s late-game dealmaking really was.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to adopt a budget framework supported by GOP leadership and President Donald Trump on Tuesday, allowing Speaker Mike Johnson to hold on to his image as a unifiying voice among Republicans in the chamber.
Johnson and Rep Jodey Arrington, the House GOP’s Budget committee chairman, were able to win over several key holdouts within the Republican Party who felt that the plan did not do enough to cut federal spending.
Trump’s stake in the legislation is obvious, as it provides more funding for border security measures while also laying the path for an extension of the 2017 tax cuts which became his main legislative achievement in his first term.
Thomas Massie was the only Republican to vote against the legislation after several others fell back into line, including Reps Victoria Spartz and Warren Davidson.
