Narrow majority in the House of Representatives for Trump's tax cut plan

The Republican-controlled US House of Representatives has approved President Donald Trump's tax cut and border plans and given a boost to his agenda for 2025. The budget proposal is intended to form the basis for deportation, military spending, promoting energy production and, last but not least, lower taxes. The votes were only the first steps towards the new budget, which must ultimately be approved by the Senate.

The vote late Tuesday (local time) was close, with 217 votes in favor and 215 against. One Republican congressman voted against, no Democrats supported the measure, and one Democrat did not vote. The Republicans have a majority of 218 out of 215 votes in the House of Representatives.

Just a few hours before the planned first procedural vote, it was not clear whether Speaker Mike Johnson had the support of his party colleagues. A series of unusual maneuvers followed, in which the President of the House of Representatives canceled a vote on the bill - apparently because there were not enough votes to pass it - and informed the MPs that there would be no further votes that night. Then Johnson changed course.

The turnaround came after Johnson and his Republican deputy, Steve Scalise, spent hours trying to persuade critics. Both politicians said Trump himself had also contacted hesitant members to impress upon them the need to push forward with the $4.5 trillion tax cut plan, which would also fund the deportation of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally, strengthen border security, deregulate the energy sector and increase military spending.

Some of the representatives called for further cuts to the federal budget. So far, the plan is to save two trillion dollars over ten years to finance Trump's agenda. The volume of the budget draft being discussed is 4.5 trillion dollars. The federal government in the USA currently has debts of more than 36 trillion dollars, and the Republicans' plan would make an increase of four trillion dollars possible.

"If the Republican budget is passed, the deficit will get worse, not better," Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky said on X on Monday evening. At least two of his colleagues also called for deeper cuts.

Concerns also came from Republican lawmakers in narrow, Hispanic-majority districts who fear the cuts could affect food aid, scholarships and health insurance.

Congress is under time pressure because funding for federal agencies expires on March 14. The federal debt ceiling would also have to be raised later this year to avoid insolvency.

In the Senate, too, the Republicans only have a small majority, so they have to use a special procedure to prevent the Democrats from forming a blocking minority. Last week, the Senate passed its own, simpler version of the budget: a package worth $340 billion that covers Trump's priorities for borders, defense and energy. The controversial tax issues are only to be addressed later in the year.