U.S. President Donald Trump addressed concerns Wednesday that legislation funding the federal government past a March 14 deadline would include controversial cuts to social safety net programs such as Medicaid and Social Security.
“We’re not going to touch it,” Trump told reporters, “Now we are going to look for fraud. I’m sure you’re OK with that, like people that shouldn’t be off, people that are illegal aliens and other criminals.”
Those cuts are one of the issues lawmakers are racing to resolve before a short-term spending bill runs out in just over two weeks. The House of Representatives passed a budget resolution 217-215 late Tuesday when Speaker of the House Mike Johnson secured enough votes from within his party.
“We promised to deliver President [Donald] 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 earlier Tuesday.
The House and Senate bills will now have to be compromised to be signed into law.
Before the vote, several members of the House Republican conference were still concerned about the size of the spending measure, how and when to enact a proposed extension of the 2017 tax cuts, and the political impact of cutting social safety net programs that benefit many American voters.
“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 Tuesday.
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 version of the budget, the Senate last week passed a funding resolution 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.
In a statement Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham warned, “Time is of the essence when it comes to border security. ICE will run out of money in weeks, not months. Stalling President Trump’s border security agenda is not only bad politics, it is dangerous.”
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.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer characterized the vote as a first step toward hurting voters.
“Last night, almost every single House Republican signed their names to what would be the largest Medicaid cuts in American history. The havoc, the damage that would do to tens of millions of American families would be almost unprecedented when it comes to Medicaid,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Wednesday.
“The Republican agenda is quickly taking shape: Under Donald Trump’s Republican Party, billionaires win, American families lose,” Schumer said.
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