WASHINGTON—Republicans were dealt a major blow on May 16 when the House Budget Committee failed to advance a multi-trillion-dollar budget package.
Created through a process that does not require support from Democrats, the package would fund President Donald Trump’s agenda items on the border, energy, and more while making permanent the tax cuts passed during his first presidency. It would also raise the debt ceiling to $4 trillion.
House Speaker Mike Johnson’s Memorial Day deadline to advance the package looked to be in jeopardy after the May 16 vote. Throughout the morning, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise negotiated with conservative Republican holdouts concerned about the bill’s level of spending—and Trump complained on Truth Social of “‘grandstanders’ in the Republican Party.”…