'Very clear about where we stand': Critical number of GOP reps give Johnson an ultimatum

House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) goal of passing President Donald Trump's policy agenda in one so-called "big, beautiful bill" just hit a major snag.

NOTUS reported Friday that multiple moderate members of the House Republican Conference have told the speaker that they will not support any budget plan that makes steep cuts to Medicaid (the program that provides health insurance to low-income and disabled people). Some of those outwardly opposed include Reps. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and David Valadao (R-Calif.), though NOTUS' sources said at least 10 Republicans were the record against cutting Medicaid.

Moderates spoke out after a comment from House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) saying that moderates were "on board" with leadership's proposed changes to Medicaid's funding structure, which would end up cutting federal support by hundreds of billions of dollars. One unnamed source told the outlet that Scalise's remarks were "not representative of any conversations that the members representing majority making districts has had with leadership, leadership staff, [Energy and Commerce Committee] staff [or] chairman [Brett] Guthrie."

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"I disagree with what Scalise is saying, and a lot of us have been very clear about where we stand," Valadao said. "And his comments frustrated a lot of us."

Given the tiny seven-member Republican majority in the House of Representatives, Johnson can only afford to lose four votes on any given legislation assuming full attendance. This means if he loses moderates like Bacon and Valadao, he won't be able to pass legislation out of the House. But on the other hand, hard-liners like Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) have insisted on massive cuts to Medicaid and other programs, and have even publicly said that their continued support of Johnson's speakership is contingent on him championing those cuts.

"Leadership has had many open conversations with Members from all sides of the Conference on a pathway to reforming the Medicaid program to make sure it’s working for those it’s intended for, and those conversations will continue," a Scalise spokesperson told NOTUS.

Johnson also has a significant obstacle in the form of Trump himself. The president has told aides and advisors that he is hesitant to sign any bill that cuts Medicaid, recognizing that doing so would come at a significant political cost for Republicans in next year's midterm elections. While the budget bill that passed through the House earlier this year cut Medicaid by more than $800 billion, both Trump and Senate Republicans have been uneasy about reducing federal support for the popular program.

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Click here to read NOTUS' full report.