The Blubber

House Speaker Mike Johnson pledged Wednesday that Republicans will not cut Medicaid, Medicare, or Social Security as they work to pass—and fund—President Donald Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda.

"No Cuts" Pledge

“The White House has made a commitment. The president has said over and over, ‘We’re not going to touch Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.’ We’ve made the same commitment,” Johnson told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on The Source. “That said, we are going to go into those programs, carve out the fraud, waste, and abuse, and find efficiencies.”

Though Trump has repeatedly insisted he will not reduce entitlement programs—including during his administration’s first Cabinet meeting earlier Wednesday—Republicans have long sought to scale back Medicaid.

Pressed on how they plan to cut spending in the House’s budget without affecting Medicare and Medicaid, Johnson argued that reductions could be achieved through work requirements and other measures. He also stated that per capita caps on federal funding for those programs are “off the table.”

GOP Budget Battle

Johnson’s promise came just hours after House Republicans passed a budget framework to advance Trump’s priorities. However, it still requires Senate approval, where resistance is growing—especially over the trillions in spending cuts demanded by conservative hardliners.

The House GOP’s plan calls for at least $1.5 trillion in spending reductions, with the potential to reach $2 trillion. If it falls short of that goal, tax-writers would be forced to scale back some of their plans. Nearly $1 trillion in savings is expected from the Energy and Commerce Committee, sparking concerns that Medicaid could face deep reductions.

That possibility is a nonstarter for some Senate Republicans, particularly those from states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

Looming Funding Deadline

With a March 14 deadline to fund the government, Johnson acknowledged that Congress might need to pass a yearlong resolution maintaining current spending levels. However, he suggested adjustments could be made to reflect cuts from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), including reductions to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

“That’s why I say you add anomalies to a [continuing resolution],” Johnson said, referring to a short-term funding bill. “You can increase some spending, you can decrease some spending. You can add language that says, for example, the dramatic changes that have been made to USAID would be reflected in the ongoing spending.”

“It would be a clean CR mostly, I think, but with some of those changes to adapt to the new realities here,” Johnson added. “And the new reality is less government, more efficiency, and a better return for taxpayers.”