Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The House Rules Committee is set to vote on Monday to advance a budget resolution that has the backing of President Donald Trump but tenuous Republican support within the chamber.
The committee will consider the resolution at 4 p.m. on Monday in hopes of sending it to a floor vote on Tuesday.
Earlier this month, the budget resolution moved out of the House Budget Committee. It includes roughly $300 billion in new spending for defense and border along with a debt limit increase of $4 trillion, and provides $150 billion for the U.S. Department of Defense and another $175 billion for immigration enforcement and border security.
In addition, it also directs the Energy and Commerce Committee -- which is over Medicaid -- to locate at least $880 billion in spending cuts which many lawmakers say can only be done by making large cuts to the Medicaid program.
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On Friday, the Senate passed the $340 billion budget resolution in a 52-48 vote after Democrats forced a marathon "vote-a-rama" in which Republicans had to reject numerous amendments, using 10-hour sessions to get GOP members on the record for a variety of issues including Medicaid and taxes. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the lone vote to buck his party.
Trump has endorsed the House version, which he has described as "one big, beautiful bill" over the Senate's solution which breaks the proposal into two bills.
Republicans can only afford to lose one or two votes which leaves House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., facing a rebellion of his own with scores of GOP members likely to hold out support for the bigger bill in a contentious floor vote on Tuesday. On Sunday, Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Ind., announced that that she was "a NO on the current version" of the legislation.
Meanwhile, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-K.y., has reportedly told members he plans to vote against it. Last week, Reps. David Valadao, R-Calif., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Don Bacon, R-Neb., told The Hill they were not yet on board with concerns over potential cuts to Medicaid. "There's probably 10 [Republicans] that are really nervous about the situation," says Valadao.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Monday urged all House Democrats to be present for Tuesday's vote in order to present a strong opposition.
"We only need three Republicans to do the right thing and Medicaid will be saved," New York's Jeffries posted on X.
House Democrats have also created a webpage where U.S. citizens can enter a zip code to see what specific cuts in Social Security are proposed and what it will mean for the taxpayer.
