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Speaker Mike Johnson has a new challenge as he works on the specifics of President Donald Trump\u2019s agenda: navigating the competing assurances<\/a> he made to various GOP factions.<\/p>\n

Johnson has to placate tax writers who want a costly and permanent extension of Trump\u2019s 2017 tax cuts; hard-liners who want steeper spending reductions if the tax provisions expand; and swing-district Republicans who don\u2019t want to see cuts to safety-net programs. That\u2019s to say nothing of Trump and his billionaire ally, Elon Musk, or Republicans in the Senate.<\/p>\n

The House\u2019s fiscal hawks are already pushing Johnson to oppose the Senate GOP\u2019s attempts to pull back some of the spending cuts House Republicans approved. \u201cThe House has spoken,\u201d Rep. Chip Roy said. \u201cAnd I think we need to defend that position.\u201d<\/p>\n

But other House Republicans are counting on the Senate to soften the potential blowback of cuts to Medicaid and other safety-net programs. Remember, the House and Senate have to pass the same<\/i> plan in order for Congress to pass a reconciliation bill to enact Trump\u2019s domestic agenda.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not Johnson\u2019s only major challenge right now. He also has to stop the government from shutting down in less than two weeks. The speaker said on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press\u201d Sunday that he wants to keep the Department of Government Efficiency\u2019s cuts out of the spending patch<\/a> that GOP leaders are now pushing to keep the government funded through September. He\u2019ll instead look to incorporate them in funding legislation for the next fiscal year.<\/p>\n

Johnson temporarily backing away from codifying DOGE cuts should ratchet down the chances of a shutdown on March 14, though Democrats were still noncommittal on Sunday. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said the party is \u201ccommitted to funding the government\u201d \u2014 including Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. A clean stopgap, also known as a continuing resolution or CR, would likely continue current funding levels for all three of those programs.<\/p>\n

Republicans will almost certainly need Democrats on this, even in the House. GOP Rep. Tony Gonzales, who voted against December\u2019s stopgap bill, said Sunday he\u2019ll again be a \u201cNO on the CR.\u201d<\/a> More hard-liners are likely to join him.<\/p>\n

What else we\u2019re watching:<\/b><\/p>\n