Mike Johnson Calls Off Budget Vote Amid GOP Holdouts

The House of Representatives did not vote Wednesday night on the budget bill supported by President Donald Trump, a fiscal plan that would effectively secure his agenda.

Newsweek reached out to Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson’s office via email Wednesday for comment.

Why It Matters

Early concern whether the Republican bill had enough GOP support prompted Trump to throw his political weight behind it on social media, calling it “imperative” for Republicans to pass it.

Conservative Republican representatives like Chip Roy of Texas and Thomas Massie of Kentucky have been well-known hard-liners against passing larger budget bills.

Passing the bill is critical for Trump’s strategy, including tax cuts, to move forward and maintain a cohesive working relationship with House Republicans.

What To Know

The House moved forward with a procedural vote of 216-215 earlier in the evening to allow a final vote of the bill. Three GOP lawmakers voted against the procedural rule.

But, as time passed, Johnson and other GOP holdouts could not seem to come to a consensus regarding the resolution and the vote was ultimately postponed.

According to Punchbowl News Founder Jake Sherman on X, formerly Twitter, Johnson said “he won’t have the house in session over the weekend due to Passover. But he would bring the chamber back next week if they can’t pass something this week.”

Johnson also said in part, “It may not happen tonight, but we [sic] probably by tomorrow morning. This is part of the process. This is a very constructive process. I’m very optimistic about the outcome of this. This one big, beautiful bill, and this is just one of the steps in getting there. We want everybody to have a high degree of comfort about what is happening here, and we have a small subset of members who weren’t totally satisfied with the product as it stands,” according to Fox News Senior Congressional Correspondent Chad Pergram in a post on X.

What People Are Saying

Johnson posted to X, formerly Twitter, on Tuesday: “A few points to remember about the budget resolution: The budget resolution is not law. The Senate amendment makes no changes to our reconciliation instructions. Any final reconciliation bill must include historic spending reductions, while also safeguarding essential programs. This is a collaborative process. Congressional Republicans are working together to get this done.”

Roy posted to X on Wednesday: “Cut government spending. No more empty promises cc: Congress”

Republican Representative Eric Burlison of Missouri posted to X on Wednesday, ripping the bill:“$4 billion in cuts over 10 years is a joke. House Republicans already passed $2 TRILLION in real cuts. We can support President Trump and fight for fiscal sanity.”

Trump posted to Truth Social on Tuesday: “I had a very good meeting today with the Speaker of the House and some of our more Conservative Members, all great people. I let them know that, I AM FOR MAJOR SPENDING CUTS! WE ARE GOING TO DO REDUCTIONS, hopefully in excess of $1 Trillion Dollars, all of which will go into ‘The One, Big, Beautiful Bill.’ I, along with House Members and Senators, will be pushing very hard to get these large scale Spending Cuts done, but we must get the Bill approved NOW. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”