The House is losing the budget battle

The House Budget Committee will hold its budget markup today — and some GOP members are already opposing the border, energy, and taxes proposal that Chair Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, released Wednesday.

Arrington’s plan is meant to be a blueprint for the “one big, beautiful bill” to deliver Trump’s agenda. But Freedom Caucus member Eric Burlison, R-Mo., called its $1.5 trillion in cuts “pathetic” and predicted a half-dozen or more Republicans would vote against it on the House floor. “I know my colleagues. They don’t really have much desire or impetus to cut spending, so you’re going to have to force them,” he said.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., offered an option for deeper cuts: “If you don’t do Medicaid, where else are you going to get it?” Meanwhile, the Senate passed its border-first budget out of committee with a promise to bring it to the floor “soon.”