Freedom Caucus eyes reconciliation 2.0
Why it matters: Armed with handshake agreements, these hardliners claim they're poised to get their wishlists passed. They're optimistic that next time, Trump and congressional leaders will follow through.
"The plan is to do one in the fall for FY26 budget year, and we can also squeeze in a third one for FY27 before this Congress is up," House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said last week on Fox News.
Catch up quick: Freedom Caucus holdouts delayed key procedural votes for record lengths last week, prompting the House to stay in session overnight.
After a couple hours of talks with GOP leadership, and White House officials like OMB Director Russ Vought, they all flipped and supported the bill.
What they're saying: Holdouts said they were given "assurances" some of their priorities that got nixed in the Senate have paths forward, either in future reconciliation bills, or through executive action.
Tackling the deficit, making deeper cuts to wind and solar tax credits, and more aggressively going after fraud in Medicaid were among the matters discussed while the bill was in limbo.
Trump administration officials "were very forthcoming with information about going after fraud, and getting rid of a lot of the nonsense in our energy policies," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) told reporters Thursday.
"There might be another reconciliation" bill for deeper spending cuts that Republicans can't achieve through the regular appropriations process, Burchett added.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) attributed his shift in support to the president himself and told Axios he wasn't directly promised anything in exchange.
Norman said he would like to see a broader phase-out of clean energy tax credits and an executive action targeting Medicaid fraud.
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Trump admin decision to pause and restart weapons shipments to Ukraine: TIMELINE
President Donald Trump is continuing to dodge questions on who ordered the pause on U.S. weapons shipments to Ukraine last week. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump pushed back to a reporter who asked him on Tuesday who was responsible. He continued to obfuscate on Wednesday, when asked directly who made the order, not taking responsibility for the action and not blaming anyone else. Here's a detailed timeline of events, which shows the White House was aware of the pause in real time and Trump's decision to reverse the action -- following an unproductive phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin and a subsequent series of brutal Russian assaults on Ukraine. July 1: Announcement of pause On the evening of Tuesday, July 1, ABC News reported the White House confirmed it has stopped the shipment of some air defense and precision guided weapons that were on track to be sent to Ukraine. Officials said the decision followed an assessment of U.S. stockpiles. 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After, speaking with reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Trump suggested they didn't make any progress. "We had a call. It was a pretty long call. We talked about a lot of things, including Iran, and we also talked about, as you know, the war with Ukraine. I'm not happy about that," Trump said. Trump also notably disputed a reporter's question that the U.S. was pausing weapons. "We're giving weapons, but we've given so many weapons, but we are giving weapons, and we're working with them and trying to help them, but we haven't," Trump said. That same day, ABC News reported relevant congressional leaders were not informed of the Pentagon's decision to pause some munitions intended for Ukraine, two congressional sources told ABC News. July 4: Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine, Trump speaks with Zelenskyy More than 500 Russian attack drones and missiles were fired at Ukraine overnight, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote in a post on X on Friday. Trump then spoke with Zelenskyy, who later provided a positive assessment. "As for the call with the President of the United States of America, which took place yesterday, I'd say it was probably the best conversation we've had so far, extremely fruitful. We discussed air defense among other things. I'm grateful for the readiness to assist. Patriot systems are the key to defending against ballistic threats. We also discussed several other topical issues, which our teams will follow up on in detail at upcoming meetings," Zelenskyy said. The Wall Street Journal later reported that Trump told Zelenskyy during that he wasn't responsible for the halt in weapons shipments to Kyiv. Trump said that he had directed a review of Pentagon munitions stockpiles after the U.S. struck Iran's nuclear sites last month but hadn't ordered the department to freeze the arms deliveries, according to people briefed on the conversation, the Journal reported. July 5-6: Russia continues intense strikes on Ukraine Russia targeted Ukraine with 322 drones, according to the Ukrainian air force on Saturday, July 5. Approximately 292 of them were "neutralized", either shot down or suppressed by other means. Eleven people were injured in the Kharkiv, including 2 children, in a drone strike overnight there, according to local emergency services. On Sunday, ABC News reported 14 people were killed and 37 injured in Ukraine as a result of Russian attacks in the last 24 hours. July 7: White House changes tune, Trump says he'll ship weapons On Monday morning, Dozens were injured in Ukraine after another intense Russian drone attack that saw a residential building in Kharkiv take a direct hit. The Trump administration appears still to be blocking the shipment of air defense weapons it froze last week. The White House then changed its tune, saying pause was to review "all aid" to Ukraine during an afternoon press conference. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked to walk through the decision to halt weapons to Ukraine. Leavitt stated that this was a standard review by the Pentagon of all weapons and aid to all countries that the U.S. supports. Trump said he would ship weapons to Ukraine during dinner with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu. "We're going to send some more weapons. We have to, they have to be able to defend themselves," Trump said. "They're getting hit very hard. Now. They're getting hit very hard. We're going to have to send more weapons, your defensive weapons, primarily. But they're getting hit very, very hard." Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said the munitions previously designated for Ukraine will be sent at Trump's direction. July 8: Trump says he doesn't know who approved pause During a meeting of his Cabinet on Tuesday, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sitting next to him, Trump said he didn't know who signed off on the weapons pause. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?" Trump told a reporter who asked who ordered the pause. Trump also repeated he was "very unhappy" with Putin and said he was looking into sanctions on Russia as a consequence. July 9: Trump continues to say he's unsure who issued pause On Wednesday, Ukrainian officials reported the largest aerial assault on Ukraine from Russia since the start of the war. Trump was asked about the conflict and the weapons pause again as he met with African leaders in the State Dining Room. "Yesterday, you said that you were not sure who ordered the munitions halted to Ukraine. Have you since been able to figure that out?" a reporter asked the president. "Well, I haven't thought about it, because we're looking at Ukraine right now and munitions, but I have, no I have not gone into it," he said. The reporter followed up by asking, "What does it say that such a big decision could be made inside your government without you knowing?" "I would know if a decision was made, I will know," Trump stressed. "I'll be the first to know. In fact, most likely I'd give the order, but I haven't done that yet."
