Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that he plans to bring his budget resolution to the House floor this week, despite growing concerns within the Republican caucus that the bill’s topline spending cuts could force politically damaging reductions in Medicaid once all the details are hammered out.
Speaking at an event held by the conservative libertarian group Americans for Prosperity, Jonson said he recognizes that there are questions about the bill – which include the fact that it would add trillions to the national debt while slashing spending on healthcare for the poor – but he is confident that Republicans will get on board. “I don't think anyone wants to be in front of this train, I think they want to be on it,” he said.
The budget blueprint calls for at least $880 billion in cuts to be achieved by the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and the budget math suggests that the bulk of those cuts would have to come from Medicaid due to the program’s sheer size. But Johnson said he has no plans to address the issue at this point, even though it could delay or even derail the effort once lawmakers start specifying precisely where they intend to find their budgetary savings.
“Look, everybody needs to understand that the resolution is merely the starting point for the process,” Johnson said. “So there’s nothing specific about Medicaid in the resolution. The legislation comes later, so this is the important first start.”
Still, some Republicans are getting nervous as public discontent over the potential healthcare cuts begins to bubble up, along with concerns about Elon Musk’s aggressive campaign to reduce the government.
“You have to do this with a scalpel and not a hatchet,” said Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Republican, per CNN. “And we have to make sure that people who work hard but rely on Medicaid for health insurance, or seniors in a nursing home, or folks who are disabled, are protected.”
On the broader issue of government spending, Van Drew advised caution. “This is a tricky business. This is something you can’t do easily and you can’t just bludgeon your way through it,” he said. “But there’s a lot that needs to be done.”
Johnson’s schedule calls for passing the fully defined budget in the House by the first week of April, with the final, Senate-approved bill arriving at the White House in May – an extremely ambitious timeline in such a narrowly divided Congress, with many difficult issues remaining to be resolved.
“Buckle in, because the ride is just getting started,” says Politico’s Garrett Ross.