Speaker Johnson and Senate GOP leadership pledge $1.5 trillion in savings as budget reconciliation advances.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom

The House of Representatives narrowly passed a budget resolution Thursday morning, advancing President Donald Trump’s legislative priorities through the budget reconciliation process, following a 216-214 vote largely along party lines. Two Republican holdouts, Reps. Victoria Spartz of Indiana and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, joined all Democrats in opposing the measure.

The resolution serves as a vehicle to enact major elements of Trump’s economic agenda, including a permanent extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts, new defense spending, and over $100 billion in immigration enforcement funding. It also unlocks reconciliation, allowing Senate Republicans to bypass the filibuster for fiscal legislation.

Speaker Mike Johnson, who announced a Memorial Day deadline to deliver what Trump calls his “one big, beautiful bill,” overcame internal opposition by securing verbal commitments to include at least $1.5 trillion in spending reductions in the final package.

Wednesday evening, House Republicans were reportedly deadlocked due to concerns from deficit-focused lawmakers within the House Freedom Caucus. These members had demanded firm assurances that the reconciliation process would yield deep spending cuts.

“$4 billion in spending cuts in the Senate budget resolution is less than one day’s growth in the budget deficit,” Rep. Andy Harris, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, wrote Thursday morning. “This spending addiction has to stop now.”

The breakthrough came after Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Johnson publicly pledged to deliver meaningful fiscal reform. “Our ambition in the Senate is we are aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined,” Thune said Thursday, “when the Speaker talked about $1.5 trillion.”

Johnson reinforced the commitment, stating: “Our first big, beautiful reconciliation package here involves a number of commitments, and one of those is that we are committed to finding at least $1.5 trillion in savings for the American people while also preserving our essential programs.”

Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee cited Thune’s public comments as the reason he ultimately supported the budget resolution.

However, skepticism remains. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska told the Daily Caller News Foundation she was unconvinced that GOP leaders would follow through with the full amount of proposed savings. “Though House and Senate GOP leadership are aligned,” she said, “the respective chambers have yet to find consensus on which programs to cut.”

Rep. Thomas Massie objected to the framework on fiscal grounds, calling the resolution “unsustainable.” Rep. Victoria Spartz warned it would result in “the largest deficit increase in the history of our Republic,” and criticized accounting changes she said would obscure the true cost of the bill.

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington of Texas stated that he had received direct assurances from Speaker Johnson that the final legislation will not increase the national debt.

The resolution now sets the stage for the full budget reconciliation bill, which will implement tax and spending changes without requiring 60 votes in the Senate. If passed, it would deliver a key legislative win for President Trump and fulfill many of his first-year policy objectives. Failure to act before 2026 could result in a $4 trillion tax hike for American households and businesses as the 2017 tax provisions expire.