WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some of the most fiscally conservative Republicans in the U.S. House stalled the party’s massive budget bill in committee Friday — but the GOP’s infighting doesn’t worry U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman one bit.
In fact, the Wyoming Republican said the House Budget Committee’s 21-16 vote against the package shows the Freedom Caucus members on the panel are working overtime to rein in spending as the nation’s debt hovers at $36 trillion.
“My friends in the Freedom Caucus are doing great work to make this the most conservative bill possible,” Hageman told Cowboy State Daily after the panel’s vote against the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, promised to go right back to the drawing board.
“Passing a big and beautiful bill takes time and hard work,” Arrington said after the vote. “I am confident we will get to a good place this weekend and have the votes to pass it out of committee Sunday evening.”
The bill could go to the House floor for a vote as early as next week.
Hageman does not serve on the Budget Committee but said she has been involved in the process for months, working with House leadership.
Freedom Caucus Cites Progress
All the Democrats on the Budget Committee voted against the bill Friday, criticizing what they called extreme cuts to Medicaid and other social programs. They were joined in the vote by their ideological opposites — Republican Freedom Caucus members who said the spending cuts did not go far enough.
Those Republicans are U.S. Reps. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Ralph Norman of South Carolina and Chip Roy of Texas. A fifth Republican, not a Freedom Caucus member, also voted no — U.S. Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania.
“Reps. Roy, Norman, Brecheen, Clyde and others continue to work in good faith to enact the President’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ — we were making progress before the vote in the Budget Committee and will continue negotiations to further improve the reconciliation package,” the Freedom Caucus posted on its X account after the vote.
“We are not going anywhere and we will continue to work through the weekend,” the post said.
Income Taxes, Green Energy
The bill would preserve 2017 income tax cuts that would otherwise expire, and make additional tax cuts. Democrats complain it lowers taxes for the wealthy, but Republicans say the tax relief is spread across income groups.
Republicans tout the bill’s boost in military and border security spending, while Democrats complain of cuts to health care and other social programs.
Of keen importance to Wyoming’s congressional delegation, the bill would reduce — or eliminate, in some cases — various green energy tax credits.
“I have been working with leadership for months to ensure Wyoming's priorities are included and will continue working through this process to keep those provisions in the bill,” Hageman told Cowboy State Daily on Friday.
Hageman: Bill Is ‘Rare Opportunity’
Republicans hold narrow majorities in the House and Senate. They are using a process called “budget reconciliation” to take the Senate filibuster out of play and move the package on simple-majority votes in both chambers.
In the Senate, where the GOP holds a 53-47 edge, it takes 60 votes to advance most legislation, meaning some Democrat votes are needed. But budget legislation is not subject to that 60-vote threshold under the reconciliation process.
"Budget reconciliation can only be done when one party has a majority in the House and Senate and holds the White House,” Hageman said. “This is a rare opportunity to redirect the priorities of the federal government and rein in spending.”
But first, House Republicans must agree among themselves on a bill.
Sean Barry can be reached at sean@cowboystatedaily.com.
