Happy New Year 2025

Tag: GOP

Minnesota GOP takes control of House after Dems’ weekslong boycott, pledges to ‘check’ Walz’s ‘extreme’ agenda

Republicans in Minnesota’s progressive-dominated government have notched a temporary majority in the House through a power-sharing agreement reached Thursday after Democrats refused to show up to work for several weeks.

“So, 23 days as of yesterday, none of the Democrats have come into work,” Republican leader and now House Speaker Lisa Demuth told Fox News Digital in an interview Thursday. “They completely boycotted the session and prevented the work from getting started here in Minnesota.”

The arrangement comes after a weeks-long saga beginning in December 2024 when a district court judge ruled that Democratic House Rep.-elect Curtis Johnson did not meet the residency requirements to represent Minnesota House District 40B, rendering him ineligible to take office.

The decision temporarily tipped the balance of power in the Minnesota House, giving Republicans a 67-66 majority until a special election could be held.

‘SCARED’ AND ‘TRAUMATIZED’: WALZ’S SUPPORT FOR TRANS WOMEN IN MINNESOTA WOMEN’S PRISON ‘ENDANGERING’ INMATES

Minnesota state Republicans will have the “advantage” after a power-sharing agreement was reached Thursday. (Getty Images/Minnesota)

Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday a special election will be held on Tuesday, March 11, which could bring back a 67-67 tie.

As such, House Democrats boycotted the legislative session beginning Jan. 14, protesting what they perceived as an “abuse of power” by Republicans attempting to leverage their temporary majority to advance their policies. This stalemate effectively denied the House the quorum needed to conduct official business, leading to the state GOP threatening Democratic lawmakers with recall efforts.

Demuth said the organizational agreement reached with Democrats taking effect when the Minnesota House convenes Thursday afternoon ensures she will serve as the Republican speaker for a full two-year term, regardless of the outcome of the upcoming special election.

Currently, with a 67-66 Republican majority, the GOP holds committee chair positions and a one-vote advantage on all committees. If the election results in a 67-67 tie, committee leadership will be shared between Republicans and Democrats, alternating control over schedules and agendas. The Fraud Prevention and Agency Oversight Committee will remain under Republican control, with a 5-3 GOP majority, for the full two-year period, she said.

“We definitely have an advantage,” Demuth said. “And I think it’s important to recognize that the reason that there is a special election that needed to be called is because the Democrats had a candidate that lied and cheated and couldn’t take office.”

WALZ EDUCATION APPOINTEE WHO CALLED FOR THE US GOVERNMENT TO BE ‘OVERTHROWN’ UNDER GOP FIRE: ‘INSURRECTION’

Gov. Tim Walz “has not contacted” Republican state legislative leaders during the long stalemate and been “very partisan” in his dealings overall, Minnesota Republicans claim. ( Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Demuth said Republicans – who have been gaveled in by the state secretary every day despite the stalemate – are looking forward to addressing the state’s budget and other key issues once lawmakers convene Thursday.

“We need to stop the fraud in the state of Minnesota,” Demuth said. “And according to test scores, our test results for our K-12 education, specifically in fourth and eighth grade, continue to plummet under the leadership of Gov. Walz, and so [the Democrats] have prevented all of that work to even begin.”

Demuth criticized the governor for his lack of engagement during the legislative standoff, noting that “he has not contacted me at all as caucus leader during this time.” She said he issued a press statement suggesting that “Republicans need to start working with Democrats,” but argued that his statement was “very partisan” and ultimately “a disservice to Minnesotans.”

MN GOP VOWS RECALL EFFORTS AS DEM LAWMAKERS THREATEN TO SKIP WORK FOR TWO WEEKS

Minnesota House Republicans say they are committed to being a check on the power and policy priorities of liberal Democratic Gov. Tim Walz. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Minnesotans need us to do the work. It’s not Republican or Democrat, but when you have a party that stayed out to prevent the work, you have a governor that isn’t even encouraging his own party to show back up, he’s really doing a disservice to the people of Minnesota,” said Demuth, whom the Minnesota Star Tribune noted becomes the state’s first Black House speaker.

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During the first week of the Democrats’ boycott, Walz told lawmakers, “Just work together on a power-sharing agreement,” the AP reported. “That’s the way it’s going to end up. And I think that can work out really well.”

The Republican State Leadership Committee provided a statement to Fox News Digital in which it congratulated Demuth for securing the House leadership role, adding in part, “Voters have made it clear they want Minnesota House Republicans to be a strong check on Tim Walz and his extreme liberal agenda.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Walz’s office and the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party for comment.

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.

February 6, 2025
Trump spells out tax plan for House GOP leaders in White House meeting

President Donald Trump gathered with House Republican leaders at the White House on Thursday to relay his tax priorities.

In the meeting, he told House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., and others that he wants to fulfill his campaign promise to stop taxing tips.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt updated reporters as the lengthy meeting was still ongoing, detailing that Trump wants “no tax on seniors, Social Security, no tax on overtime pay.”

TRUMP, GOP SENATORS TO DINE AT MAR-A-LAGO BEFORE CAMPAIGN RETREAT

Johnson and other House GOP leaders have preferred one large reconciliation bill. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Additionally, she said, he wants to renew his tax cuts from 2017 in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). The legislation’s provisions begin to expire later this year.

Leavitt added that Trump is focused on also adjusting the cap on State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions, which has been a sticking point for Republicans in states with high costs of living.

Further, Trump laid out to House Republicans that he is looking to “eliminate all the special tax breaks for billionaire sports team owners; close the carried interest tax deduction loophole,” and institute “tax cuts for Made in America products.”

INSIDE SEN. TOM COTTON’S CAMPAIGN TO SAVE TULSI GABBARD’S ENDANGERED DNI NOMINATION

Leavitt shared the tax priorities with the press. (AP/Evan Vucci)

“This will be the largest tax cut in history for middle-class working Americans. The president is committed to working with Congress to get this done,” Leavitt said.

Trump’s meeting with the House GOP leaders on taxes comes as the lower chamber attempts a one-bill budget plan that includes all of the president’s agenda priorities, including both the border and taxes.

LEADER THUNE BACKS SENATE GOP BID TO SPEED PAST HOUSE ON TRUMP BUDGET PLAN

House leaders joined Trump at the White House. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

The budget reconciliation process lowers the threshold to advance a bill in the Senate from 60 votes to just 51. And with a 53-vote majority in the upper chamber, Republicans are poised to push policies through with only support from the GOP conference.

The House Republicans have yet to move forward with a plan for the budget, however, allowing the Senate GOP to move out ahead of them.

SENATORS LEAPFROG HOUSE REPUBLICANS ON ANTICIPATED TRUMP BUDGET BILL

A plan to leapfrog House Republicans on the reconciliation process was unveiled to senators on Wednesday. (Reuters)

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On Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., announced his intent to push a first bill on border, defense and energy through next week. Taxes would be addressed later in the year as part of a second budget resolution.

The move threatened the House Republicans’ positioning to lead the process and spearhead a one-bill approach.

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to [email protected].

February 6, 2025
GOP senators to join Trump for Mar-a-Lago dinner ahead of campaign wing retreat

Most of the Senate Republican conference will dine with President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate on Friday evening as the lawmakers prepare for a weekend campaign retreat.

The dinner between Trump and the GOP senators was confirmed by several sources to Fox News Digital.

Also in Florida, many of the senators will be attending the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) retreat afterward. The committee is preparing for the 2026 midterm election cycle.

INSIDE SEN. TOM COTTON’S CAMPAIGN TO SAVE TULSI GABBARD’S ENDANGERED DNI NOMINATION

Trump is hosting the senators at Mar-a-Lago. (Getty Images)

While most of the GOP conference will be at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago dinner, not all of the senators are going.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., will instead be at dinner with his daughter, who lives in the area.

Cassidy has had a fractured relationship with Trump in the past, as one of the handful of Republican senators who voted to convict him for allegedly inciting the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.

LEADER THUNE BACKS SENATE GOP BID TO SPEED PAST HOUSE ON TRUMP BUDGET PLAN

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., is up for re-election in 2026. (Reuters)

The Louisiana Republican is notably up for re-election in 2026 and will be at the NRSC retreat for the remainder of the weekend. While Cassidy’s state isn’t likely to pick a Democrat, he faces threats of primary challenges from the right.

The office of moderate Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, whose race will be one of the NRSC’s most competitive this cycle, did not provide comment to Fox News Digital when asked whether she would be at the Mar-a-Lago dinner.

FORMER NFL PLAYER SCOTT TURNER CONFIRMED TO LEAD HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Collins has a reputation as a moderate Republican. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

Republicans will be put on defense in 2026 in key states North Carolina and Maine, protecting the seats of Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., and Collins, respectively. At the same time, the party is looking to expand its majority in the Senate, eyeing vulnerable Democrat-held seats in Georgia and Michigan.

FORMER GOP LEADER MCCONNELL FALLS WHILE EXITING SENATE CHAMBER AFTER TURNER CONFIRMATION VOTE

Ossoff is seeking a second term in Georgia. (Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

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Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Georgia, is seeking re-election in swing state Georgia for the first time. Michigan is already a swing state, and with Democratic Sen. Gary Peters’ announcement that he isn’t running again, the party is losing an incumbent advantage.

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to [email protected].

February 6, 2025
Freshman GOP lawmaker targets ‘propaganda’ from top adversary in first bill of congressional career

FIRST ON FOX: Freshman GOP Congressman Abe Hamadeh has introduced his first piece of legislation as a lawmaker aimed at combatting the Chinese communist government’s influence in the halls of Congress.

Hamadeh, who was sworn in to represent Arizona’s 8th Congressional District in Congress last month, introduced a bill that would prohibit China Daily and other CCP-backed publications from House facilities and spoke to Fox News Digital about his reasoning for the move.

“The first day I came into my office, I looked and I had a bunch of newspapers on my desk from the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and included in it was The China Daily,” Hamadeh told Fox News Digital. “And, you know, I’m looking at it like, ‘Why do we get the China Daily?’ And after researching it, we discovered that this was a Chinese communist owned newspaper that’s a registered foreign agent.”

“And I just find it unacceptable that it’s being passed around the halls of Congress for free, using our internal mail system, using third parties to pass out the propaganda. So, honestly, it was my first welcome to Congress and that’s kind of why I think I honed in on it to be my first piece of legislation because I don’t think we should have foreign propaganda in the halls of Congress.”

BILL MAHER DECLARES CHINA ‘THE NEW ISLAM,’ SAYS LEFT CAN’T BE HONEST ABOUT THE COUNTRY’S THREAT

Abe Hamadeh introduced his first bill in Congress this week (Getty)

The legislation would call on the Chief Administrative Officer of the House to immediately cease the distribution of CCP state-run media material and restrict the spread of the materials on House email while still allowing members to maintain private access if they wish.

Hamadeh told Fox News Digital that the “reason why the Chinese are doing it is because they know that they can influence members of Congress, they can influence their staff.”

USPS SUSPENDS INBOUND PACKAGES FROM CHINA, HONG KONG POSTS

Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 29th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand, Nov. 19, 2022. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

“You see on Capitol Hill, it’s filled with a lot of young staffers who are energetic, but they may not know that this publication is owned by a foreign adversary of ours,” Hamadeh said. “

So, you know, the communist Chinese, it’s information warfare that they’re conducting on us,psychological operations and there’s a reason why they’re passing it out for free. They’re trying to influence the highest echelons of the United States government and it’s unacceptable.”

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Arizona Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh with Kayla Mueller’s parents on Jan. 3, 2025. (Kayla Mueller Family)

China Daily has drawn the ire of conservatives over the last few years including criticism from then GO Sen. Marco Rubio, who is now Trump’s Secretary of State, who last year called on mainstream media CEOs to sever ties with the English-language newspaper owned by the CCP.

Rubio said China Daily’s goal is to “subvert U.S. news media by amplifying the goals and ambitions of the party.” The outlet has published several articles claiming the U.S.’s “anti-China” reporting on the persecution of Xinjiang Uyghurs is an “outright lie.”

“I want to get a vote on the record to see what other members of Congress, how they feel about a foreign publication like the China Daily being passed to their offices,” Hamadeh told Fox News Digital. “Nobody is saying that they don’t have to read the China Daily if they want to read it on their own privately, if they want to pay for a subscription, that’s fine. But to have it passed around through taxpayer dollars is unacceptable and to have them pass it around using our resources is unacceptable.”

Hamadeh told Fox News Digital he hopes to have bipartisan support for his bill to rid Congress of “foreign propaganda.”

“Remember what Joe Biden was so focused on, he got rid of the New York Post at the White House, one of the oldest newspapers in existence in the United States,” Hamadeh said. “He got rid of The New York Post. And yet here we are allowing the China Daily to freely operate in the halls of Congress. It’s unacceptable.”

“We understand that communist China is a threat. I understand it very well in Arizona. My district has all the Taiwanese companies moving into the district away from the sphere of China’s influence for a reason. So, you know, this is a start. There is obviously legislation out there that people are doing at a state level and even at the federal level. Some of them are trying to ban the ability for the communist Chinese to buy our farmlands and to buy land near our key assets like military bases. This is common sense, and that’s why I’m introducing it, because it should be an easy it should be an easy resolution to pass.”

Andrew Mark Miller is a reporter at Fox News. Find him on Twitter @andymarkmiller and email tips to [email protected].

February 6, 2025
Senate GOP effort to move on Trump budget before House gets leader Thune backing

FIRST ON FOX: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., came out in support of a GOP effort in the upper chamber to get moving on legislation to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

It would be a significant departure from current plans for the House to pass a bill first, amid infighting by House Republicans over spending levels.

“I appreciate Chairman Graham’s leadership in crafting a budget resolution that will unlock the ability to pass a reconciliation bill to secure the border, rebuild our military, and deliver a much-needed down payment on energy security,” Thune told Fox News Digital in an exclusive statement.

“I am supportive of Chairman Graham’s efforts to advance the president’s priorities in the Senate, and I look forward to continuing our conversations with our House colleagues,” he said.

SENATORS LEAPFROG HOUSE REPUBLICANS ON ANTICIPATED TRUMP BUDGET BILL

Thune said he supports Graham’s effort to move on the President’s agenda in the Senate. (Getty Images)

Earlier on Wednesday, ahead of a lunch with key Republicans, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., unveiled his plan to advance the bill through a key procedural hurdle next week. The House planned to move a bill this week, but leaders were forced to punt after conservatives balked at what they saw as a low threshold for spending cuts to offset the cost of new funding to implement Republican border and defense policies.

Now, with Thune’s blessing, Graham’s plan is primed to quickly maneuver through the Senate, getting a significant advantage over any competing House GOP efforts.

Republicans in Washington, D.C., are preparing to use the budget reconciliation process to achieve a wide range of Trump proposals from border security to eliminating taxes on tips and overtime pay.

The reconciliaiton process lowers the threshold to advance a bill in the Senate from 60 votes to just 51. And with a 53-vote majority in the upper chamber, Republicans are poised to push policies through with only support from the GOP conference.

FORMER GOP LEADER MCCONNELL FALLS WHILE EXITING SENATE CHAMBER AFTER TURNER CONFIRMATION VOTE

U.S. Capitol Building (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

At the same time, with razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, the party can afford very few defectors.

The first step in the crucial budget reconciliation process is marking up and advancing a bill through the Senate and House budget committees.

The budget that is headed to the Senate’s committee would be part of a two-pronged approach, with the first bill including Trump’s priorities for border security, fossil fuel energy and national defense.

This plan would see a second bill focusing on extending Trump’s tax policies from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) later in the year.

In a statement, Graham confirmed his plan to move forward on the two-bill plan. His office advised that next week there would indeed be a committee vote on a Fiscal Year 2025 budget resolution, which “will be the blueprint that unlocks the pathway forward for a fully paid for reconciliation bill to secure the border, bolster our military and increase American energy independence.”

SENATE TEES UP TRUMP BUDGET CHIEF PICK RUSSELL VOUGHT FOR FINAL CONFIRMATION VOTE

Graham chairs the Budget committee. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

“To those who believe that Republicans should fulfill their promises on border security, mass deportation of criminal illegal aliens: I agree,” Graham said.

“That is why the Senate Budget Committee will be moving forward next week to give the Trump Administration’s Border Czar, Tom Homan, the money he needs to finish the wall, hire ICE agents to deport criminal illegal immigrants, and create more detention beds so that we do not release more dangerous people into the country. This will be the most transformational border security bill in the history of our country. It’s time to act,” he continued.

While many Senate Republicans have espoused a preference for two bills to be passed this year through the key budget reconciliation process, they have faced significant opposition in the House, where the House Ways & Means Committee and House GOP leaders have pushed for one large bill with all of Trump’s priorities.

FORMER NFL PLAYER SCOTT TURNER CONFIRMED TO LEAD HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT

A plan to leapfrog House Republicans on the reconciliation process was unveiled to senators on Wednesday. (Reuters)

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House leaders had intended to make the first move in the process. But the Senate passing their own bill first could essentially force the lower chamber to contend with whatever product comes from the other side of Capitol Hill, instead of dictating their starting point themselves.

Trump has previously said he preferred one large bill, but avoided demanding it. Rather, the president has left it with Congress, urging them to employ whichever strategy can be carried out quickest.

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

Follow Julia’s reporting on X at @JuliaaJohnson_ and send tips to [email protected].

February 6, 2025
GOP lawmaker scraps with Democrat in hearing over transgender ‘slur,’ bathroom rights: ‘Not going to have it’

A House Oversight Committee hearing devolved into a fight over words on Wednesday after Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., repeatedly used a “slur” to describe transgender people in a hearing on USAID funding.

“USAID awarded $2 million to strengthen trans-led organizations to deliver gender-affirming health care in Guatemala,” Mace said. “So to each of you this morning, does this advance the interests of American citizens paying for trannies in Guatemala to the tune of $2 million, yes or no?”

When Mace’s five minutes were up, ranking member Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., made a point of parliamentary inquiry to the committee chairman to chide Mace for using the word “trannies,” a term “that is considered a slur in the LGBTQ community, and the transgender community.”

“Let me please finish without interruption,” Connolly said, before Mace cut him off and repeated the term several more times.

“Tranny, tranny, tranny, I don’t really care, you want penises and women’s bathrooms, and I’m not going to have it OK, no, thank you – it’s disgusting,” Mace barked back.

SPEAKER JOHNSON ANNOUNCES NEW CAPITOL BATHROOM POLICY IN RESPONSE TO CONTROVERSY OVER TRANS HOUSE MEMBER

Rep. Nancy Mace and Rep. Gerry Connolly (Getty Images)

Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., interrupted and permitted Connolly to finish his thoughts.

“To me, a slur is a slur, and here on the committee, a level of decorum requires us to try consciously to avoid slurs. You just heard the gentle lady actually actively, robustly repeated it,” Connolly said. “And I would just ask the chairman that she be counseled that we ought not to be engaged. We can have debate and policy discussion without offending human beings who are our fellow citizens. And so I would ask as a parliamentary inquiry whether the use of that phrase is not, in fact, a violation of the decorum rules.”

Mace – who recently introduced a bill to ban biological men from women’s spaces on all federal property – snapped back that she wasn’t going to be “counseled by a man over men in women’s spaces or men who have mental health issues dressing as women.” The South Carolina Republican also made headlines last November with her push to ban biological males from women’s bathrooms in the U.S. Capitol, inspired by the election of Sarah McBride, D-Del., as the first openly transgender woman elected to the House.

TWO HOUSE DEMS JOIN GOP TO BAN BIOLOGICAL MALES FORM GIRLS’ SCHOOL SPORTS

Elon Musk speaks with President-elect Donald Trump and guests at a SpaceX Starship launch in Brownsville, Texas, Nov. 19, 2024. (Brandon Bell/Pool via Reuters/File Photo)

With a slight smirk, Comer said, “I’ll be honest with the ranking member – I’m not up-to-date on my politically correct LGBTQ terminology.”

“We’ll look into that and get back with you on that. I don’t know what’s offensive and what’s not. I don’t know much about pronouns,” he said.

The hearing, which was about government efficiency and called “Rightsizing Government,” began Wednesday morning and included as witnesses Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds and Citizens Against Government Waste president Thomas A. Schatz.

WHITE HOUSE TO IMPOSE TARIFFS ON MEXICO, CANADA AND CHINA DUE TO ‘INVASION OF ILLEGAL FENTANYL’

The flag of the U.S. Agency for International Development flies in front of its office in Washington, Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

The hearing also fell into some confusion when Connolly demanded the committee subpoena the leader of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), tech billionaire Elon Musk.

A review of USAID’s recent history shows that it was repeatedly accused of financial mismanagement and corruption long before Trump’s second administration, Fox News Digital previously reported.

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Musk has led the charge against USAID – an independent U.S. agency established during the Kennedy administration to administer economic aid to foreign nations – as he leads DOGE’s mission of cutting government fat and overspending at the federal level.

Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.

Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.

February 5, 2025
GOP rebels push for at least $2.5 trillion cuts in Trump budget bill

Republican spending hawks in the House of Representatives are pushing their leaders to include at least $2.5 trillion in spending cuts in a massive piece of legislation intended to advance President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Republicans held their weekly closed-door agenda meeting on Wednesday where they discussed a path forward via the budget reconciliation process.

By lowering the threshold in the Senate from two-thirds to a simple majority – which the House already operates under – reconciliation allows the party in power to pass sweeping fiscal policy changes while skirting the opposition.

Several sources told Fox News Digital there was significant “frustration” within the House GOP conference on Wednesday over a lack of a concrete final plan from Republican leadership.

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

House Budget Committee members Ralph Norman and Chip Roy are among the conservatives pushing Speaker Mike Johnson to seek at least $2.5 trillion in spending cuts (Getty Images)

One GOP lawmaker said that tension bubbled up with several “heated exchanges,” with conservatives demanding a concrete plan and minimum spending cuts at significantly higher levels than what was initially proposed.

“I think there’s a lot of frustration right now,” the lawmaker told Fox News Digital. “They’ve been trying to be inclusive, but not every open forum they’ve offered is giving members the ability to say, ‘I feel like people are listening to me,’ because I don’t know that’s the case right now.”

There’s also concern that the Senate, which is growing impatient with the House, could move forward with its own plan if the House doesn’t release one first – which House Republicans worry will include much shallower spending cuts than what could pass in the lower chamber.

“What we’re worried about is losing the opportunity. I think we’re more likely to cut than they are,” a second GOP lawmaker said.

A third House Republican said GOP lawmakers were fed up waiting for a “play call.”

But senior House GOP aides pushed back on the notion there was no play call, pointing out that Republican leaders held countless listening sessions culminating at the recent three-day House GOP retreat in Miami to consult members and emerge with a blueprint for a one-bill strategy that maintains scoring flexibility. The aides said the reconciliation process has had a 95% participation rate among House Republicans.

House GOP leaders were forced to delay a key vote on advancing a reconciliation bill through the House Budget Committee, the first step in the process, after spending hawks pushed back on initial proposals for spending cuts between $300 billion and $600 billion.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said on Tuesday night that it would likely be planned for next week, but that leaders’ final goal of having a bill on Trump’s desk in May remained unimpeded.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Republicans were still on track to get a bill to Trump in May. (Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Three sources told Fox News Digital that leaders are floating a plan that would include roughly $1.65 trillion as a baseline for spending cuts, though two people stressed they saw the figure as one of several tentative ideas rather than a final plan.

Two other sources said it would also include measures that lead to an additional $1.65 trillion in economic growth.

Republicans are trying to pass a broad swath of Trump policies via reconciliation, from more funding for border security to eliminating taxes on tips and overtime wages. Trump has also made clear that he views extending his Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) of 2017 as vital to the process.

NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

The tax cuts have proved a sticking point with some spending hawks, however, because several estimates show they could add upwards of $1 trillion to the federal deficit over 10 years if extended. Those spending hawks have said they support extending the tax cuts but are seeking deep funding rollbacks elsewhere to offset them.

Three people involved in the discussions also told Fox News Digital that House GOP leaders are considering extending the TCJA tax cuts by five years instead of 10 to mitigate those concerns.

Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Ralph Norman, R-S.C., two conservative members of the House Budget Committee, both told reporters they wanted to see the baseline for spending cuts set at roughly $2.5 trillion.

Reconciliation is being used to pass President Trump’s agenda (Donald Trump/Truth Social)

Roy told reporters that $2.5 trillion would amount to roughly $250 billion per year in federal savings over 10 years – while pointing out the U.S. was currently running a $36 trillion national debt.

House GOP leaders vowed to seek $2.5 trillion in spending cuts back in December, to get conservatives on board with a bill averting a partial government shutdown.

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“They said $2.5 trillion of cuts. So, deliver. That will unlock the door,” Roy said.

Norman told reporters multiple times this week that he wants between $2 trillion and $3 trillion in cuts.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

February 5, 2025
Trump USAID moves backed by new House GOP talking points memo

EXCLUSIVE: An internal memo being circulated to House Republicans is urging lawmakers to argue that President Donald Trump’s handling of foreign aid is “already paying dividends” and that the Biden administration spent that money on initiatives like “a transgender opera in Colombia through the State Department.”

The three-page document, obtained by Fox News Digital through a House GOP source, is being sent to members of Republican leadership as well as lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

It includes two pages of recommended talking points, including, “America is spending $40 billion in foreign aid annually. Much of those aid dollars are not even reaching the intended recipients and are instead propping up an NGO industrial complex that has, for years, swindled the American taxpayer.”

The memo urged Republicans to argue Trump’s freeze on foreign aid “is needed because it’s nearly impossible to evaluate foreign aid programs when they are on autopilot.”

SCOOP: KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS DRAWS RED LINE ON HOUSE BUDGET PLAN

President Trump rolled back USAID in recent days. (Getty Images/File)

“A 90-day review period, with commonsense waivers for truly life-threatening situations, is the only way to give the State Department the time needed to root out waste,” it said.

The State Department issued a freeze on most federal foreign aid days after Trump was sworn into office. Within recent days, Trump and Elon Musk’s “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE) have also led a significant scale-back of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), including making Secretary of State Marco Rubio its acting head.

Opponents of the moves have said it would embolden authoritarian governments that want to see the United States’ stature on the world stage diminished and that it would imperil thousands of lives abroad that depend on the aid.

But Republicans like House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast, R-Fla., a top Trump ally, argue that the moves are justified to evaluate what money is actually going to foreign assistance that aligns with Trump’s agenda.

“America’s foreign aid is not charity and its goal should not be to advance DEI abroad,” the committee wrote on X on Monday.

NONCITIZEN VOTER CRACKDOWN LED BY HOUSE GOP AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Brian Mast is a top Trump ally. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images/File)

The memo also encouraged lawmakers to point out existing exceptions for “emergency food assistance” and “life-saving medicine, medical services, food, shelter, and subsistence assistance, as well as supplies and reasonable administrative costs as necessary to deliver such assistance.”

The third page is dedicated to highlighting where committee Republicans tracked foreign aid as going toward, including “$39,652 to host seminars at the Edinburgh International Book Festival on gender identity and racial equality through the State Department” and “$425,622 to help Indonesian coffee companies become more climate and gender friendly through USAID.”

Other priorities listed included “$14 million in cash vouchers for migrants at the southern border through the State Department,” “$446,700 to promote the expansion of atheism in Nepal through the State Department” and “$32,000 for an LGBTQ-centered comic book in Peru.”

A group of House Democrats said they were denied entry into USAID headquarters on Monday amid reports of a scale-back in senior officials and others.

“We are not going to let this injustice happen. Congress created this agency with the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, and if you want to change it, you got to change that law,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.

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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. (Kent Nishimura/Getty Images/File)

It’s not clear if all Republicans are on board with Trump’s push, however. A vote to defund USAID last year led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., failed with 127 GOP lawmakers voting against it, compared to 81 in support.

But Trump’s handling of foreign aid has been backed by Republicans known to be national security hawks, including previous House Foreign Affairs Chair Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas.

“President Trump and his team are right to scrutinize and revamp U.S. foreign aid distribution to ensure every taxpayer dollar serves its intended purpose. And I am optimistic they will do it in a way that strengthens the intention behind these programs and strengthens our national security,” McCaul said.

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

February 5, 2025
Trump budget bill could miss key deadline amid House GOP infighting

House Republicans’ plan for a massive conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process is expected to miss a key deadline this week, throwing a wrench in the GOP’s ambitious schedule for swiftly enacting President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., previously told reporters that House Republicans were aiming to advance their bill out of committee this week.

But Republican hardliners on the House Budget Committee balked at GOP leaders’ initial proposal for spending cuts late last week, multiple people told Fox News Digital, pushing for a steeper starting point in negotiations with the Senate.

“The budget resolution is almost certainly not going to move through committee this week,” one Budget Committee source told Fox News Digital. “Frankly, what was put forward by leadership at the retreat was so far off the mark – literally increasing deficits even further.”

TRUMP ADMIN HITS BACK AS ACLU LAUNCHES LAWSUIT ON BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP: ‘READY TO FACE THEM’

Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing House Republicans to enact President Trump’s policies through the reconciliation process. (Getty Images)

A senior House GOP aide said it was “extremely unlikely” for the resolution to pass through committee this week.

Meanwhile, the national debt continues to climb past the $36 trillion mark, with the U.S. deficit currently running over $710 billion for this fiscal year.

House Republicans huddled at Trump National Doral golf course and resort for three days last week, where committee chairs detailed possible avenues to pursue spending cuts.

Senate and House Republicans hope to use their majorities to pass a broad range of Trump’s agenda items through reconciliation. By lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51, it will allow Republicans to bypass Democrats and enact sweeping policy changes – provided they are linked to the budget and other fiscal matters.

But to do that, the House Budget Committee will need to pass a budget resolution that will include specific instructions for various other committees under policies of their jurisdiction.

Conservatives have demanded that the final product of the process be deficit-neutral, if not deficit-reducing – something Johnson promised last week.

Republicans talked reconciliation at the Trump National Doral Miami golf club last week. (Reuters/Zachary Fagenson)

Johnson said the guidelines for spending cuts would be a “floor” rather than a “ceiling,” giving lawmakers more flexibility to find more savings.

But Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a House Freedom Caucus member who sits on the budget panel, argued that those cuts likely will not extend much past their stated “floors.”

“I guess they want to get the resolution out. I do, too. I want to get it out of committee, have an up or down vote. But if you set that floor too low, that’s all that’s going to be achieved,” Norman said. “I have no confidence that they would exceed whatever level we put in there.”

Norman said leaders’ initial offer amounted to roughly $300 billion as a floor for spending cuts, but that it also included $325 billion in new spending, but “does not include interest.”

The Budget Committee source who spoke with Fox News Digital said the offer was raised to roughly $900 billion in spending cuts with roughly $300 billion in new spending on border security and defense.

The source said it was “building in the right direction” but still “woefully inadequate.”

Norman suggested he wanted the starting point raised to $2 to $3 trillion.

“Anything less than that is really sending the signal that we’re just not serious about it,” he said.

Norman is one of several Freedom Caucus members on the House Budget Committee who could potentially tank the bill, considering it’s virtually unlikely to get Democratic support.

TRUMP’S HOUSE GOP ALLIES PUSH BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP BILL AFTER PROGRESSIVE FURY AT PRESIDENTIAL ORDER

Rep. Ralph Norman said he wanted to see at least $1.3 trillion more in spending cuts than GOP leaders’ latest offer. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But steeper spending cuts could also risk rankling Republicans in districts that depend on whatever funding goes on the chopping block.

Democrats have used Republicans’ pursuit of deep spending cuts as a cudgel, accusing them of wanting to gut Social Security and Medicare. GOP leaders have denied eyeing those benefits.

Rep. Ben Cline, R-Va., another Freedom Caucus member on the budget panel, said he was optimistic but that there were “a lot of conversations about starting the process from the most conservative position possible.”

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“The Senate is not as interested in fiscal responsibility, so we recognize the need to set parameters for authorizing committees that encourage that… from the beginning,” Cline said.

Johnson said he wanted the bill through committee this week for a goal of passing an initial House version by the end of February.

Congressional leaders hope to have passed a reconciliation bill by May.

The speaker said on “Fox & Friends” Monday morning of reconciliation talks, “Republicans are working right now to negotiate what that looks like. We don’t want to blow a hole in the deficit by extending the Trump-era tax cuts, for example, but we’re definitely going to get that extended. So we got to find those savings.”

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

February 3, 2025
Elon Musk crackdown on USAID cheered by House GOP hardliners

House conservatives are cheering the apparent scale-down of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), led by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

“USAID is a corrupt governmental organization run by unelected bureaucrats created to shovel taxpayer dollars to Democrats’ pet projects overseas,” Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told Fox News Digital.

“At nearly $37 trillion in national debt – and a $1.8 trillion annual deficit – we can’t afford to continue giving money to countries that hate America and everything we stand for,” he said.

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital that shutting down USAID “will help reduce our national debt and relieve the burden on taxpayers, while compelling aid-dependent countries to achieve true self-reliance, snapping them out of the dependency cycle USAID has perpetuated under the false banner of ‘development.’”

RUBIO PAUSES FOREIGN AID FROM STATE DEPARTMENT AND USAID TO ENSURE IT PUTS ‘AMERICA FIRST’

House conservatives are rallying behind Elon Musk, left, and President Donald Trump as they appear to be scaling back USAID. (Getty Images)

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., endorsed the idea of ending its independent agency status on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” over the weekend.

“I would be absolutely for, if that’s the path we go down, removing USAID as a separate department and having it fall under one of the other parts of the Department of State, because of its failure,” Mast said.

USAID is an independent agency in the federal government that provides civilian foreign aid to help encourage development, fight poverty and disease, and promote democracy overseas.

However, conservatives argue that the agency has strayed from its intended purpose and have called for steep cuts to its multibillion-dollar budget.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X, “7 months ago, I tried to DEFUND USAID. Only 81 Republicans voted ‘aye’ which is ‘yes’ to my amendment to prohibit funding to USAID. 127 Republicans and 204 Democrats voted NO to my amendment and voted to FUND USAID. I FULLY SUPPORT ELIMINATING USAID!!!”

Rep. Andy Biggs is one of the House Freedom Caucus members backing the move. (Getty Images)

Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., similarly said on the platform, “I once proposed an amendment on the House floor to cut the USAID budget by 50%. A sensible start. You won’t be shocked to know that it didn’t have enough support from my fellow Republicans.”

Fifty senior USAID staff have been placed on administrative leave, sources told Fox News over the weekend. Staff have also been barred from communicating with anyone outside the agency without approval.

Its computer systems have also been taken over by Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, the sources said.

AFTER RAUCOUS FIRST WEEK IN OFFICE, DONALD TRUMP TO KEEP HIS FOOT ON THE GAS

The United States Agency for International Development is being targeted by conservatives. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Democrats have criticized the USAID crackdown, particularly with regard to Musk – who they point out is an unelected ally and donor to Trump.

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“Agency watchdogs track down waste, fraud and abuse. Trump fired them all. The Government Accountability Office monitors federal spending. What Elon Musk is doing isn’t oversight. An unaccountable billionaire doesn’t have the power to cancel spending he disagrees with,” Rep. Shontel Brown, D-Ohio, wrote on X.

Rep. Diane DeGette, D-Colo., said, “USAID is critical in advancing U.S. national security interests, providing humanitarian aid, and strengthening global stability. Musk is an unelected billionaire with no authority to make these decisions. This isn’t governance, it’s authoritarianism.”

Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report

Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.

Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to [email protected]

February 3, 2025