President Trump Presses House GOP to Pass Budget Package Amid Party Divisions

President Trump made a high-profile visit to Capitol Hill today, pressing House Republicans to pass a sweeping budget bill that would advance several of his top policy priorities. The legislation, which combines immigration funding and an extension of the 2017 tax cuts, has become a central pillar of Trump's domestic agenda.

“This is arguably the largest and most comprehensive piece of legislation that Congress has worked on in probably generations,” one Republican lawmaker said.

While the GOP holds the votes needed to push the bill through the House without Democratic support, internal party disagreements are threatening its passage. Fiscal conservatives are balking at proposed spending increases and offsets that include cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs.

House leaders remain optimistic. “We’ve got a few issues to resolve, but we’re working with all the interested parties,” said one Republican, “and I’m confident that we will.”

Democrats, meanwhile, are criticizing both the substance of the bill and the process, especially the decision to begin the Rules Committee debate at 1 a.m. Wednesday morning.

President Trump also turned attention to foreign policy this week, revealing that he had a two-hour phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, urging him to end the war in Ukraine. “It’s a bloodbath,” Trump said. “And I do believe he wants to end it.” He also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who remains skeptical of Putin’s intentions but expressed support for a full ceasefire.

Trump says negotiations to end the war will begin immediately.

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