Speaker Mike Johnson said Sunday that tentative plans for a House Budget Committee markup this week may now be postponed as Republican lawmakers continue to struggle to reach an agreement on the framework for a massive reconciliation package containing much of President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda.
House leaders had been hoping to work through the weekend to reach agreement on a budget resolution that would allow for a markup as early as Tuesday. But Johnson said on “Fox News Sunday” that more time is needed.
“We were going to do a Budget Committee markup next week,” the Louisiana Republican said Sunday morning at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, where he was preparing to watch the Super Bowl with President Donald Trump. “We might push it a little bit further because the details really matter. Remember that I have the smallest margin in history, about a two-vote margin currently, so I’ve got to make sure everyone agrees before we bring the project forward, that final product. And we’ve got a few more boxes to check, but we’re getting very, very close.”
The markup delay marked the latest setback in House leadership efforts to unite their GOP conference around a package that would boost border security, increase military spending and extend expiring tax cuts, while offering new tax breaks sought by Trump. The package could also include an increase in the debt limit.
But just extending tax cuts could cost more than $4 trillion over 10 years and Republicans have yet to agree on how to pay for a package they have promised would not increase the deficit. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are moving ahead with an alternative, slimmer package focused on border security, defense and energy production. The Senate Budget Committee plans to mark up a fiscal 2025 budget resolution for that package Wednesday and Thursday.
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