House's budget bill already facing concerns -- even within GOP: report

The House budget resolution Speaker Mike Johnson hopes to pass in the name of advancing President Donald Trump's sweeping legislative agenda already faces trouble as congressional leaders work to convince at least a dozen Republican holdouts to come on board.

That's according to a new report in Politico, which detailed the ongoing efforts Johnson and his whip team are engaging in this week to stave off the resolution from flopping on the House floor. And with Johnson only able to lose a single GOP vote and still have the resolution approved along party lines, it all comes down to a numbers game.

"In private meetings and calls with these members over the last few days, Republican leaders have argued that adopting the budget blueprint is simply the first step toward being able to craft the massive legislative package to enact President Donald Trump's domestic agenda through the filibuster-skirting budget reconciliation process," Politico reported Tuesday.

At least seven GOP House members have expressed serious concerns about cuts to Medicaid in the resolution, while others have reservations about a move "to raise the debt limit as part of the plan." Johnson is using the week-long House recess to spur interest from them and other undecided members.

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"According to four people granted anonymity to share private conversations, GOP leaders are assuring members they can still debate the specifics of that package in the weeks ahead -- appealing to them not to stand in the way of delivering Trump's biggest priorities," the publication added.

Changes to the "fiscal blueprint" that the House Budget Committee adopted last week are being viewed as an olive branch to please hard-liners in the party. Vulnerable incumbents from districts across the country were said to have been "generally blindsided by the deeper level of proposed cuts, a Republican said, as that possibility never came up in earlier discussions with GOP leaders."

They include Reps. David Valadao (R-CA), Nicole Malliotakis of (R-NY) and Don Bacon (R-NE) among others "from redder districts," Politico noted.