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By Jasmine Laws
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House Speaker Mike Johnson appears to have smoothed out some of the bumps in the road ahead of tonight's GOP budget vote after some House Republicans voiced concerns over potential Medicaid cuts.
After conservations on Monday evening, GOP leaders have reportedly outlined possible ways the $2 trillion government spending cut would be achieved without having to make major cuts to Medicaid funding, POLITICO reported.
Newsweek has contacted the office of Mike Johnson via email for comment.
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Why It Matters
Ahead of the scheduled vote, critics of the budget have warned that should it get approved, it would result in the "gutting" of Medicaid, a program which is used by some 80 million Americans, many of which are President Donald Trump's own supporters.
Some Republicans could also be concerned about a politically radioactive move like making cuts to Medicaid after the Trump campaign pollster Tony Fabrizio recently found that many of Trump's own fans are concerned about their financial situations.
Implementing Medicaid cuts might mean many of those supporters could be potentially pushed off the health care program, which is designed for those with lower incomes.
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What To Know
According to POLITICO, a number of House Republicans have since come around to Johnson's budget plan after GOP leaders confirmed certain cuts to Medicaid would not be happening.
The outlet was informed by several lawmakers, who had been present at last night's meetings to discuss the concerns, that GOP leaders said they would protect certain Medicaid services and not cut into the share of federal payments for the program.
One lawmaker, New York Representative Nicole Malliontakis, told POLITICO that the House Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie had addressed her concern of increasing the share of states' responsibility in the joint state-federal Medicaid funding.
Some Republicans have supported the move to ensure states pay a greater proportion of Medicaid costs, as for some states the federal government has been paying 90 percent of the costs for Affordable Care Act (ACA) expansion enrollees.
GOP leaders have also assured concerned Republicans that they would focus on addressing "waste, fraud and abuse" in the program rather than cutting benefits, according to POLITICO.
Other ways of reaching the spending cut goal without making major cuts to Medicaid have also been discussed, such as using tariff revenue and Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) savings, POLITICO reported.
House Republicans are also reportedly eyeing up possible energy policy moves, such as repealing climate initiatives and electric vehicle incentives enacted under former President Joe Biden.
What People Are Saying
Texas Representative Tony Gonzales, told POLITICO: "We absolutely are in favor of cutting some of the waste, fraud and abuse that is rampant throughout our government."
"But how do you do that without hurting hard-working Americans? That's the balancing act," he added.
New York Representative Nicole Malliontakis, told POLITICO: "It's moving in the right direction. There's a lot of space to address the issue without hurting beneficiaries."
What's Next
There have been reports that today's vote could be pushed to later in the week as House Republicans and House Speaker Mike Johnson reportedly hope to ensure the high-stakes vote gets approved, however after last night's conversations Johnson told POLITICO as he left the Capitol that he thought everything was "on track," ahead of the vote.
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