A showdown is brewing in Congress over looming cuts to Medicaid needed to pay for President Donald Trump’s tax cuts and anti-immigrant agenda, with hardliners pushing to slash the health care safety net while Republicans from swing districts worry about cutting programs their voters rely on.

Tim Moore, R-N.C. and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, of La., speaks during a news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

With a push from President Donald Trump, House Republicans sent a GOP budget blueprint to passage Tuesday, a step toward delivering his “big, beautiful bill” with $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $2 trillion in spending cuts despite a wall of opposition from Democrats and discomfort among Republicans.