A showdown is brewing in Congress over looming cuts to Medicaid needed to pay for President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and anti-immigrant agenda, with hardliners pushing to slash the health care safety net while Republicans from swing districts worry about cutting programs their voters rely on.

WASHINGTON (AP) — With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage Tuesday, a step toward delivering his “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans.

with House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain, from left, Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C. and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, of La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce ...

The $4.5 trillion budget blueprint narrowly passed along party lines, paving the way for Republicans to secure policy wins for President Donald Trump.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, of La., right, with House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain of Mich., from left, Rep. Tim Moore, R-N.C. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise of La., and

Tim Moore, R-N.C. and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, of La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Tim Moore, R-N.C. and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, of La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

“On a vote like this, you’re always going to have people you’re talking to all the way through the close of the vote,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise said before the roll call. “It’s ...