A partial U.S. government shutdown appeared increasingly likely Tuesday afternoon as U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson worked to secure every single vote in the Republican conference to pass a spending bill. With the slimmest of majorities, Johnson cannot afford to lose a single vote.
"We promised to deliver President Trump's full agenda, not just a part of it. Not just a little bit of it now and return for the rest," Johnson told reporters Tuesday.
But several members of the House Republican conference are still concerned about the size of the spending measure, how and when to enact a proposed extension of the 2017 tax cuts, and how to pay down the U.S. deficit without cutting key safety net programs that help American voters. Senate leadership has proposed passing the tax cuts in a separate bill later this year.
"Not only are we working to find savings for the American taxpayer, a better, more efficient use of their dollar, which we are morally obligated to do, we also have a moral obligation to bend the curve on the debt," Johnson said.
President Donald Trump has called for lawmakers to pass "one big, beautiful bill" that will be a key part of enacting his domestic policy agenda.
Despite Trump expressing his preference for the House of Representatives version of the budget, the Senate passed a funding resolution Friday that provides $150 billion in military funding and $175 billion for border security. That measure also avoids the controversial Medicaid cuts of the House version.
Republican Representative Tony Gonzales led a group of seven other House Republicans warning against potential cuts to health care program Medicaid, food assistance funding and other social safety net programs.
"Slashing Medicaid would have serious consequences, particularly in rural and predominantly Hispanic communities where hospitals and nursing homes are already struggling to keep their doors open," the lawmakers said in a letter to Johnson last week.
Republican Representative Thomas Massie, a member of the conservative Freedom Caucus, also said he would vote no on the version of the budget up for a vote. Several House Republicans have not yet announced their votes on the measure.
Congressional Democrats also object to the Republican tax cut proposal, arguing it would harm lower-income and middle-class Americans who are already concerned about the cost of living and inflation.
In a "Dear Colleagues" letter sent Monday morning, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote, "Far-right extremists are determined to push through $4.5 trillion of tax breaks for wealthy Republican donors and well-connected corporations, explode the debt and saddle everyday Americans with the bill by ending Medicaid as we know it. We must be at full strength to enhance our opportunity to stop the GOP Tax Scam in its tracks."
Trump posted on Truth Social last week that "The House and Senate are doing a SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable, TEAM, however, unlike the Lindsey Graham version of the very important Legislation currently being discussed, the House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!"
If lawmakers cannot reach a compromise by March 14, there will be a partial government shutdown, leaving millions of federal employees temporarily without pay and suspending some nonessential government services.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune did not rule out the possibility of another short-term spending bill to give lawmakers more time to work.
"We're keeping all the options on the table, but we are running out of time," Thune told reporters Tuesday.
The Senate moved forward with a vote on its version of the budget due to uncertainty over the potential success of the vote on the House version. The two versions will have to be compromised to be signed into law.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer characterized the vote as a first step toward hurting voters.
"Make no mistake, it will rob seniors, kids and the disabled to pay for the rich to get richer. It's wrong. We're going to use every lever we have at our disposal to lift up the concerns that we are hearing from our constituents, band together and organize with them and fight to stop this tax break for billionaires," Schumer told reporters Tuesday.
