Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
A narrowly divided House adopted the GOP budget resolution Tuesday, 217-215, laying the groundwork for a possible major overhaul of Medicaid to help pay for an extension of Trump tax cuts.
Why it matters: The safety net program emerged as a prime target for offsets after House Republican budget writers instructed the Energy and Commerce Committee to find $880 billion in cuts.
- That put moderate Republicans in a bind, concerned that reduced federal Medicaid dollars could force painful budgetary trade-offs for states and lead to significant coverage losses.
- House Republican leaders argued Medicaid isn't technically mentioned in the budget blueprint, and that any of those details can be worked out later. They also said they would focus on "fraud, waste and abuse" in the program.
Driving the news: Conservative holdouts who complained about how much the resolution would increase the deficit ended up caving to leadership's pressure and voting to pass the resolution.
- Reps. Warren Davidson, Victoria Spartz and Tim Burchett, who had all cited concerns with the spending levels, flipped their votes to "yes."
- Rep. Thomas Massie stayed steadfast and voted against the resolution, as he had stated he would earlier in the day.
- Several House Democrats who had been out for various health reasons, returned to the House floor to cast their votes against the resolution, at first making the math more difficult for Republicans.
What they're saying: Patient groups like the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network had called on lawmakers to oppose the budget, saying it is "severing the lifeline Medicaid provides for cancer patients and those at risk for cancer."
What's next: The Senate is on a very different page, with a slimmed down budget focused on border policy and energy.
