The U.S. Capitol building in Washington on Feb. 10, 2025. Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times

WASHINGTON—The U.S. House of Representatives on Feb. 25 is expected to vote on a budget blueprint for carrying out President Donald Trump’s agenda as the outcome of that vote remains uncertain.

The resolution is the first step toward passage of House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) “one big, beautiful bill” funding plan, which would wrap all of Trump’s priorities into a single massive package. It would authorize House committees to make spending cuts and offer budgetary policy proposals related to the border, defense, energy, and tax policy.

Specifically, the blueprint orders at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts over a decade, authorizes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts, and would raise the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.

But ongoing divisions in the House GOP conference over a variety of provisions in the blueprint, including its potential impacts on Medicaid and the federal deficit, leave the outcome of that vote uncertain. Multiple Republicans have expressed opposition to the blueprint as it stands.

With Republicans currently holding just 218 seats in the lower chamber to Democrats’ 215, Johnson can spare only a single defection on the package—raising the possibility that the resolution may ultimately be pulled from the floor ahead of the vote.

Johnson and House Republican leadership have insisted that in spite of these hurdles, they expect the resolution will pass this week.Controversy Over Medicaid, Spending CutsThis uncertainty comes as Johnson faces backlash from multiple Republicans over a directive in the budget blueprint calling for the House Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in spending cuts. Such steep cuts would practically necessitate slashing Medicaid funding.Related Stories

Democrats have already moved to accuse Republicans of planning to cut Medicaid, while Johnson and GOP leadership have insisted that any cuts to Medicaid would be the result of rooting out fraud and corruption within the program.

But several purple district Republicans are concerned by the lack of specificity, and face potential political fallout from substantial cuts to the entitlement program.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) said during a Feb. 24 appearance on Fox News that she had concerns about discussions around cutting as much as $2 trillion in spending over a decade, and was looking for “clarity” from leadership about how those cuts could be accomplished.

She specifically cited concerns around the potential for cuts to Medicaid, saying, “In the $2 trillion they wanna cut, where does Medicaid actually fit in there?”

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) expressed similar concerns, telling reporters that he raised the Medicaid angle in a phone call with Trump.

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.)—whose Omaha-based district voted for Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024—also has yet to commit to a vote on the package.

On the other side of the House GOP ideological spectrum, conservatives have also indicated reservations.

Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) has said outright that she’s a no on the blueprint as is.

In a Feb. 23 post on X announcing her opposition, Spartz said she wanted greater scrutiny of the increase in Medicaid spending over the past decade, arguing that the automatic nature of this spending makes it a possible source of waste and corruption.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) also signaled that he was opposed to the budget blueprint.

In a Feb. 24 post on X, Massie wrote, “If the Republican budget passes, the deficit gets worse, not better.”A Test for JohnsonAmid mounting Republican criticism of the budget blueprint, the vote represents an important moment for the speaker.

Senate Republicans are skeptical of Johnson’s ability to corral his slim majority and have already barreled ahead with an alternative two-part plan that Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) says is meant to provide “optionality” to the White House.

For Johnson, who first took the gavel in October 2023, the success of this vote would provide a credibility boost among both skeptical senators and Trump.

Johnson, speaking at an Americans for Prosperity event on Feb. 24, requested prayers ahead of the vote, acknowledging the stakes.

“This is a prayer request,” Johnson said. “Just pray this through for us, because it is very high-stakes, and everybody knows that.”

Still, while he acknowledged the potential for more than one defector, he expressed confidence that “we'll get there.”

In addressing critics, Johnson has noted that a vote for the blueprint is not a vote for any piece of legislation.

The final shape of the package would not emerge until after weeks or months of work by House committees to identify spending cuts and draft spending and policy proposals.