US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, speaks during a press conference about the House Republican’s budget on February 25, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
US Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, speaks during a press conference about the House Republican’s budget on February 25, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
House Republicans have to get their spending bill passed by Friday to avoid a government shutdown. They can likely afford to lose just one vote.
And that’s the easy part.
Then they’ll have to get working on their plan to extend 4.5 trillion dollars in tax cuts passed under the Trump administration — a plan that will require huge cuts in government spending.
Republicans are adamant that cuts to Medicaid are a non-starter. But the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office released a report last week that said Republicans’ budget likely would require cuts to Medicaid or Medicare.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Email us at [email protected].
This episode was produced by Mallory Yu, Connor Donevan and Marc Rivers. It was edited by Sarah Handel and Nadia Lancy. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
