(WASHINGTON) — The House is voting Thursday on a budget blueprint to fund President Donald Trump’s agenda, which was passed by the Senate last week.
“I’m happy to tell you that this morning, I believe we have the votes to finally adopt the budget resolution so we can move forward on President Trump’s very important agenda for the American people,” Johnson said at a news conference alongside Senate Majority Leader John Thune.
Johnson suffered a setback on Wednesday night when he was forced to scrap a planned vote due to opposition from a small group of Republican hardliners who are concerned the budget would add to the nation’s deficit.
Johnson said he had “very productive” deliberations with members on Wednesday night and on Thursday sought to highlight efforts to slash spending by more than a trillion dollars.
“We are committed to finding at least $1.5 trillion in savings for the American people while also preserving our essential programs,” Johnson said.
Thune seemed less enthusiastic about the target for deficit reduction but meekly endorsed the House’s lofty goal for budget savings — announcing the Senate’s ambition for fiscal sustainability is “aligned with the House.”
“We have got to do something to get the country on a more fiscally sustainable path and that entails us taking a hard scrub of our government, figuring out where we can find those savings,” Thune said. “The speaker has talked about $1.5 trillion. We have a lot of United States senators who believe that is a minimum and we’re going to do everything we can to be as aggressive as possible.”
President Donald Trump, who has been personally involved in trying to get the measure adopted, weighed in on Thursday morning that Republicans were “getting close.”
“‘The Big, Beautiful Bill’ is coming along really well. Republicans are working together nicely. Biggest Tax Cuts in USA History!!!,” Trump wrote in a post to his conservative social media platform
Johnson faces a short window to get the measure over the finish line before the House is slated to go on its two-week April recess.
The speaker can only afford to have only three defections from his caucus with all members voting and present.
House GOP leaders have scrambled for the past week to lock down the votes, after more than 20 Republicans expressed concern that the Senate’s resolution set a floor of just $4 billion in savings. Now, Johnson says he has the support needed.
“Our aim is to deliver on our promises,” Johnson said.
ABC News’ Alexandra Hutzler contributed to this report.
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