After previously scheduling a vote for Wednesday evening on major budget legislation, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is now retreating and contemplating delaying the vote until next week due to resistance from within his own ranks.NOTUS reported that there were still too many holdouts the House Republican Conference for Johnson to feel confident about holding the vote as planned. Key Republican opponents were mostly members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, and slammed the Senate Republican version of the budget as “laughable” and “unserious” due to its proposed budget cuts (which Freedom Caucus members viewed as insufficient) and its raising of the debt ceiling by $5 trillion. According to Punchbowl News reporter Jake Sherman, some of the reticent Republicans Johnson attempted to cajole included Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.), Eric Burleson (R-Mo.), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Scott Perry (R-Pa.) among several others. It’s unclear whether President Donald Trump attempted to win them over during a closed-door meeting with Johnson that lasted more than an hour.READ MORE: ‘Mommy no!’ Watch the moment ICE agents smash window to arrest mother in front of daughterOne main point of contention among House Republicans is the cost of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cut legislation, which overwhemingly benefited the wealthiest Americans. The Congressional Budget Office estimated last year that the total cost could exceed $4.6 trillion, which ruffled some feathers among Republicans wary of adding to the national deficit.If Johnson fails to convince enough of the current holdouts, one alternative solution could be conferencing the two differing budget bills that have passed through both the House and the Senate. However, many Senate Republicans have already expressed reservations about the House Republican budget’s proposed $880 billion cut to Medicaid funding, and House Republicans are unimpressed by the Senate bill stopping short of cutting budget altogether, save for a few billion dollars. But NOTUS reported that Johnson is against the idea of conferencing, saying it would take too long. House Republicans have set a goal of passing their budget by Memorial Day, though the conference process could delay that timeline. House Democrats, in the meantime, are rejoicing that Johnson has so far failed to whip enough votes from his own conference. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) even expressed doubt that Trump was capable of unifying Republicans around his vision for a budget.”House Republicans are fighting with Senate Republicans, House Republicans are fighting with each other, they’re not taking orders at the moment from Donald Trump because the whole thing is falling apart,” Jeffries said.NOW READ: If you think Trump voters are changing their tune, you’re fooling yourselfClick here to read NOTUS’ full report.
Maryland to study slavery reparations after lawmakers override Dem governor’s veto
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