White House blesses Senate backup plan on Mike Johnson's budget
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Vice President Vance on Wednesday gave the green light to the Senate to keep moving on their budget resolution, even after President Trump endorsed House Speaker Johnson's (R-La.) "one, big beautiful bill."
Why it matters: Trump took Johnson's side in a morning social media post, sending Senate leadership into confusion. But the Senate is back on track to adopt a $300 billion budget resolution this week in case the House can't follow through.
- "We are moving forward with reconciliation tomorrow, foot on the gas, moving forward to pass the shared agenda that we have with the White House," Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters after the lunch.
Zoom in: Vance expressed support for the Senate's plan of first tackling border and military spending, which is set to be adopted as soon as this week, sources familiar with what was said at lunch told Axios.
- But Vance also told them the president still prefers Johnson's budget reconciliation plan, which would include Trump's many tax promises, including extending the 2017 tax cuts, no tax on tips and raising SALT caps.
- Another fissure between the two chambers is over whether to make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent — a plan the Senate supports, but the House bill does not currently accomplish.
- Barrasso said that everyone in the conference lunch "supports making the situation with taxes permanent," ostensibly including the vice president.
What to watch: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) raised the issue of Medicaid cuts during lunch — and received applause after telling Vance that they should be on the table, sources in the room told Axios.
- Trump has repeatedly and publicly said that Medicaid and Social Security will not be touched.
- It will be difficult to reach the kind of spending cuts conservatives would like to see without looking at Medicaid.
The intrigue: Vance joked early in the lunch that he was sure senators had already leaked to Axios what he had just said, multiple sources told Axios.
Between the lines: Senate leadership has long said they would defer to whatever the House can pass with its thin margins.
- "The House, as you know, is not here this week," Barrasso said. "If that bill had already been passed, that would be a different discussion."
