Five Republicans joined Democrats on the House Budget Committee on May 16 to reject a sweeping policy bill to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda.
The vote tally was 16–21. Republicans could not afford to lose the votes of more than two of their own members on the committee. On the House floor, Republicans cannot afford to lose the votes of more than three of their own members.
The no vote by the panel marks a setback for House Republican leadership, who hope to pass the bill by Memorial Day. They are still negotiating with both fiscal hawks and blue-state Republicans who want changes to various provisions of the package….