Republican Congressman Andy Harris, chair of the Conservative House Freedom Caucus, has made it clear that he will NOT be supporting the pending GOP budget deal, and even refuses to speak with President Donald Trump on the issue.
Despite other GOP representatives meeting with Trump to discuss the matter, Harris announced that he turned down the invitation, stating that the president should “spend time with people whose minds he might change.”
“There’s nothing that I can hear at the White House that I don’t understand about the situation,” Harris reportedly declared.
The chair of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Andy Harris, said on Tuesday that Trump won’t be able to sway him in favor of the budget plan GOP leaders are pushing for Trump’s “big, beautiful” domestic policy bill.https://t.co/XUzZwHd8lz
— Justice is Served (@pleasesaveour) April 8, 2025
Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that a statement like that “sounds uncharacteristic of Andy Harris,” adding that he personally hasn’t heard that rhetoric from the chairman.
Speaker Johnson responds to reports HFC chair Andy Harris (R-MD) will not attend a White House meeting on the budget today.
"That sounds uncharacteristic of Dr. Andy Harris, he's a very reasonable guy"
He's also the guy leading the GOP resistance to the budget right now. pic.twitter.com/4FNXJ93ePQ
— Leah Vredenbregt (@LeahVredenbregt) April 8, 2025
Newsmax reports:
Harris said there are more than a dozen GOP holdouts — enough to stall the legislation in a chamber where the 220-213 Republican majority can afford to lose only three votes to pass a bill, assuming all members are present.
Many holdouts are concerned about modest spending cuts in the plan approved by the Senate on Saturday, with the House leadership’s pressure to back it.
…
The budget plan was tentatively scheduled to go to the House Rules Committee after the White House meeting, which was not on the president’s daily schedule, according to Politico. The meeting could be postponed if House leaders don’t make headway with the holdouts.
“At this point, there are definitely more than a dozen,” Harris claimed, as reported by Politico. “Maybe the president can whittle that down, but he’s not going to whittle it down to four or three.”