Johnson to Senate: Don't Ruin My 'Balance'

Fiscal hawks in the House nearly derailed the "big beautiful bill." Now, the legislation—which is crucial to President Trump's domestic agenda—is facing the same threat in the Senate. Two prominent Republicans suggested over the weekend they would defy Trump and hold up the bill in order to force more spending cuts, reports the New York Times.

• Rand Paul: "I think the cuts currently in the bill are wimpy and anemic, but I still would support the bill … if they weren't going to explode the debt," the Kentucky senator said on Fox News Sunday, per the Washington Post. "The problem is, the math doesn't add up."

• Ron Johnson: "This is our only chance to reset ... to a reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending," the Wisconsin senator said. "But you have to do the work, which takes time."
• On the other hand: Of course, the same dynamic is at play in the Senate as was in the House: Some within the GOP ranks agree with Democrats that the spending cuts go too far. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, for example, says the proposed Medicaid cuts are too steep and wants to unwind them.
• Speaker's plea: However things shake out, the measure will go back to the House for final ratification, and Speaker Mike Johnson urged Senate Republicans to bear that in mind. On CNN's State of the Union, he pleaded for as "few modifications to this package as possible," per Politico. "I have a very delicate balance here, very delicate equilibrium that we've reached over a long period of time. And it's best not to meddle with it too much."

(More President Trump stories.)