A closed-door meeting meant to unite Republicans may have backfired.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) showed up to a GOP Senate lunch hoping to build support for the latest budget bill. Instead, he ran into a wall of resistance — and may have made things worse.
According to a report from NOTUS, Republican senators were alarmed by the deep Medicaid cuts in the bill. Several senators made it clear: they won’t vote for it.
Even more damaging to Johnson’s push? Donald Trump is reportedly siding with the holdouts.
“Trump reportedly warned far-right conservatives not to ‘f—’ with the reconciliation bill,” NOTUS reported, calling it “a rough wake-up call.”
But the Medicaid cuts appear to be the breaking point.
“As House Republicans inch closer to passing a reconciliation bill, Senate Republicans are looking at the legislation with a mix of fear and bewilderment,” the report said. “A number of Senate Republicans have expressed concerns about the Medicaid cuts and suggested those reductions could prevent them from supporting the reconciliation bill.”
Four GOP senators are digging in: Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, and Josh Hawley of Missouri. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is also signaling a likely “no.”
That’s a serious problem. As NOTUS puts it, “One of those four Republicans would have to budge. Otherwise, the Senate is going to send back a bill shorn of Medicaid cuts and dare House Republicans to hold up Trump’s agenda over it — something conservatives seem more than willing to do.”
Trump’s warning and the senators’ resistance could sink the bill before it ever reaches his desk.
You can read more about the GOP meeting here.
