Staff Reports
House Speaker Mike Johnson and a gathering of House Republicans attempted to make sense of President Trump’s agenda in a closed-door meeting that stretched over five hours—long enough to derail a scheduled chit-chat with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Despite their extended powwow, the GOP left the White House without nailing down a firm plan, once again proving that when it comes to agreement among factions of the party, a disco floor in a sock factory is easier to navigate.
For weeks, these House Republicans have been squabbling among themselves like cats in a bag, struggling to agree on spending levels, tax policies, and who gets the last doughnut in the break room. Even Trump, with all his charisma and negotiating chops, couldn’t work magic to finalize a budget resolution, which needed to be the springboard for his cherished agenda. However, it wasn’t a total loss; some GOP members felt that Trump’s insistence on compromise brought them a step closer to agreement, even if that step was more of a shuffle than a leap.
House Republicans leave marathon White House meeting with ‘no final agreement’ on budget blueprinthttps://t.co/tBf0048fFm pic.twitter.com/r7fOekE3Wk
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) February 7, 2025
Jodey Arrington, the House Budget Chairman from Texas, noted that the president’s participation set the stage for discussion. He had the good sense to remind everyone that this process is supposedly all about serving the American people. Ironically, if the GOP could get their ducks in a row, they might actually do just that. Still, the idea of everyone “grabbing the rope and pulling” together sounds great on paper, but in practice, it resembles a tug-of-war where some in the party just want to let go.
While Trump was present for a significant portion of the meeting, he eventually stepped out, leaving the House members to hash out the specifics, which has been likened to giving toddlers a blank canvas and a bucket of paint. After the meeting, Republicans felt they made some headway in defining the minimum spending cuts necessary for their budget framework; although, no unity was found when it came to more substantial agreements. Not wanting to catch wind of any specifics, the details remained as elusive as a cat in a raincoat.
Despite lacking consensus, optimism still floated in the air like a balloon at a birthday party. Plans were set for House Republicans to meet later that evening to iron out the remaining kinks and to consider a potential passage of the budget resolution. However, Senate Republicans decided to go their own way and outline their own alternative budget. This decision may lead to a showdown of dueling blueprints, akin to competing orchestra conductors directing their respective symphonies with wildly different interpretations of the same piece—in this case, taxpayers’ money.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise expressed that the meeting was “productive,” suggesting that Trump was eager to push for spending cuts and stabilize the tax code. The discussion touched on some of Trump’s well-touted priorities such as abolishing taxes on tips and overtime, adjusting the SALT deduction cap, and eliminating special tax breaks for sports team billionaires. The promise loomed that this initiative could become the biggest tax cut in history for suburban families—if only the GOP could find a way to cooperate, much less behave like grown-ups in Congress.
In sum, while the wheels of progress turn a little slowly, if ever so surely, Republicans in the House and Senate are all working toward crafting that elusive final budget and a tax bill. However, it seems they are just as fond of playing the blame game as they are of trying to solve critical fiscal issues, much to the chagrin of taxpayers yearning for a coherent plan.
