How the House secured massive spending cuts in the race for reconciliation

House Republicans passed a budget resolution through committee on Thursday, taking back the lead in the race for reconciliation.

Republicans also managed to land on a deal with seven times more spending cuts than their original proposal, and they have the House Freedom Caucus to thank. The budget calls for $1.5 trillion in spending cuts, $4.5 trillion for tax cuts, a $4 trillion debt limit increase, and $300 billion appropriated for defense and border security.

These are all great successes for the GOP, but it wasn't all smooth sailing.

'From the outset of this process, we sought to ensure participation from every member of our conference and make clear that this resolution reflects our collective commitment to enacting the president's full agenda — not just part of it.'

After a weekend retreat at Mar-a-Lago followed by a five-hour-long meeting at the White House, the GOP leadership still had not put forth a budget proposal at the beginning of the week. At that point, the Senate had already sidestepped the House and introduced its own resolution in an attempt to move negotiations forward.

But on Monday afternoon, Blaze News first reported that the House Freedom Caucus dropped its own resolution ahead of the Republican leadership.

"Given the current delay in the House on moving a comprehensive reconciliation bill, moving a smaller targeted bill now makes the most sense to deliver a win for the American people," HFC Chairman Andy Harris said in a statement. "I am proud to introduce the Emergency Border Control Resolution today to set the reconciliation process in motion in the House."

Although the HFC's resolution wasn't advanced, it applied the necessary pressure. Within 48 hours, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) put forth the leadership's budget proposal on Wednesday, teeing it up for markup the following morning.

In a statement following the budget's passage, the House Republican leadership made clear that all factions of the GOP were taken into account during the negotiation process.

"The budget resolution has passed through committee and House Republicans have now cleared a critical hurdle to delivering on the major priorities of President Trump's America First agenda," the statement reads. "From the outset of this process, we sought to ensure participation from every member of our conference and make clear that this resolution reflects our collective commitment to enacting the president's full agenda — not just part of it."

"This is the start of the process, and we remain laser-focused on ultimately sending a bill to President Trump's desk which, among other things, secures the border, keeps taxes low for families and job creators, restores American energy dominance, and makes government work better for all Americans."

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