Washington — President Trump is making efforts to overcome opposition within the Republican Party that is jeopardizing a crucial budget proposal essential for renewing his tax cuts, which are due to expire this year.
During a fundraiser for House Republicans on Tuesday night, he encouraged GOP dissenters to “close your eyes and get there.” Earlier in the day, he convened a meeting with some of them at the White House, advocating for their support of the budget resolution passed by the Senate on Saturday.
However, over a dozen members are hesitant due to the minimal spending cuts proposed in the Senate resolution — approximately $4 billion — in stark contrast to the nearly $1.5 trillion in cuts outlined in the House version. The budget resolution acts as a framework for executing Mr. Trump’s priorities relating to border security, defense, energy, and tax policies.
“They have to do this. They must get there,” Mr. Trump stated at the House GOP campaign arm’s fundraising dinner, noting that he had a productive meeting with some dissenters, while emphasizing, “just in case any Republicans are wavering — you just need to get there. Close your eyes and get there. It’s a fantastic bill. Stop grandstanding.”
The president criticized Democrats for their policies but expressed admiration for their unity, stating, “they always vote together,” adding, “you never see someone holding up the line.”
“One key thing the Republican Party needs to do is unite and vote,” Mr. Trump remarked, noting that individual lawmakers may not get “every little nuance — it doesn’t work that way.”
Mr. Trump, who has played a significant role in guiding the House GOP on legislative matters recently, promised a “massive victory” in the 2026 midterm elections if Republicans adhere to the budget resolution and more broadly embrace his agenda. He predicted that “they will not be able to even touch your seat,” foreseeing gains of “40, 50, or even 60” House seats, an outcome that would contradict typical political patterns where the party in control of the White House usually loses House seats in midterm elections.
“If we fail to achieve this due to ignorance or a few individuals seeking to promote themselves, you’ll just have to chuckle, smile at them, or weep openly,” the president continued.
On Wednesday morning, as the House Rules Committee prepared to review the budget resolution with a potential vote later that day, the president took to Truth Social to urge party members to fall in line.
“Republicans, now more than ever, it’s crucial that we pass THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,” he declared. “The USA will Soar like never before!!!”
This situation unfolds as congressional leaders are eager to secure the budget plan’s approval this week before embarking on a two-week recess. The adoption of the budget resolution marks the initial step in the reconciliation process, which allows Congress to circumvent the 60-vote requirement typically needed to advance most legislation in the Senate and pass the measure with a simple majority. This process will enable Republicans to fund the president’s agenda without Democratic support.
Following independent drafting by Republicans in the House and Senate on their budget proposals earlier this year, the Senate approved the compromise resolution that the House is currently reviewing on Saturday. While GOP leaders have united on this path forward recently, this strategy has disheartened many House Republicans.
The Senate established relatively low minimum spending cut mandates for several committees, set at approximately $4 billion, although they anticipate discovering considerably more. Concurrently, it permits House plans to enact spending reductions of at least $1.5 trillion. Additionally, the Senate-backed plan employs a budget scoring method known as “current policy,” which implies that continuing existing expiring policies will incur no associated costs. According to this calculation, the $3.8 trillion required to extend Trump’s tax cuts would not be counted.
The Trump tax cuts were originally enacted in 2017 utilizing a “current law” baseline, with expiration set for this year. This scoring approach, also applied in the House budget resolution, counts the $3.8 trillion cost of extending the tax cuts as new expenditure.
Fiscal conservatives have criticized the Senate-backed proposal, including Rep. Eric Burlison, a Republican from Missouri, who told reporters on Tuesday, “there’s no way” the House will approve it in its current form. Burlison stated he might be persuaded by a commitment to pursue deeper spending cuts, branding the current levels in the resolution as “anemic” and “a joke.”
GOP Rep. Eli Crane from Arizona indicated that when asked if he’d support the measure contingent upon assurances related to spending cuts from the president, he replied that he would need to “see some product from the Senate that actually demonstrates they’re serious about cutting.”
Crane remarked that the pressure exerted by House GOP leadership to support the resolution to protect the president’s agenda was merely “nonsense.”
“I think it’s just another tactic to try and coerce us into the status quo,” he added.
During the House Rules Committee hearing on Wednesday, House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, a Republican from Texas, expressed his “concerns” regarding the Senate’s resolution directing the reconciliation process, refraining from indicating how he would vote.
Rep. Chip Roy, also a Texas Republican, reiterated during the meeting that “the math still doesn’t add up.”
“The Senate budget comprises all tax cuts with no spending cuts,” Roy said, emphasizing his distrust in the Senate’s assurances to implement spending reductions.
Roy’s message to the Senate, House GOP leaders, and the White House was to “come show me the math.”
“I will not vote for this bill,” he stated. “Because it is not responsible.”
