Dem absences could help GOP pass its budget

House Democratic absences on Tuesday could help GOP leaders move their massive budget blueprint through the lower chamber. 

With just a hairline majority, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has raced for weeks to unite a divided GOP behind the budget package, which would advance the largest pieces of President Trump’s domestic agenda. If all House lawmakers are present and all Democrats vote against, he could afford only one GOP defection and still pass the bill, which is scheduled for a vote Tuesday at 6 p.m. EST.

But in the first vote series Tuesday afternoon, four Democrats were absent from the chamber. If that number holds — and Republicans have full participation — Johnson’s cushion would jump from one allowable defection to three. 

It’s for that reason that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) had penned a letter to all the members of his House Democratic Caucus on Monday urging full participation in the budget vote. 

“Given the expected closeness of the vote, it’s imperative that we are present with maximum attendance,” Jeffries wrote. 

The four Democratic lawmakers who missed Tuesday’s early votes were Reps. Kevin Mullin  (Calif.), who recently suffered an infection following knee surgery; Brittany Pettersen (Colo.), who recently gave birth to her second child; Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), who has spent most of the last year being treated for lung cancer; and Frederica Wilson (Fla.). 

It’s unclear if any of those lawmakers are planning to be present for the 6 p.m. budget vote.