This is a photo collection curated by AP photo editors.
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth wears a costume during the Purim festival in Bnei Brak, Israel, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Sled dogs mushed by Jeff Deeter, of Fairbanks, Alaska, run during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
A woman walks through a snow blanketed graveyard as the sun sets in Nuuk, Greenland, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Afeli Bernice Adzo leans against the remains of her father's room as she looks at the ocean that destroyed her family's home in Avegadzi, Ghana, March 5, 2025 (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
A Buddhist monk walks near a collapsed pagoda after an earthquake in Mandalay, central Myanmar, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo)
Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Performers from the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school dance during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Sean Baker, winner of the awards for best original screenplay, best film editing, best director, and best picture for "Anora," attends the Governors Ball after the Oscars in Los Angeles, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People hold portraits of political prisoners of the 1944-1989 period during an event marking the day of the Anti-Communist Political Prisoners in Bucharest, Romania, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
A police officer tries to put out a fire during a protest against the electoral body's decision to reject the candidacy of Calin Georgescu in a presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
As prisoners stand looking out from a cell, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Police use pepper spray during a protest against the arrest and imprisonment of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Huseyin Aldemir)
A half-moon sets behind the Sultanahmet Mosque during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Turkey, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Hostesses prepare tea for delegates before the start of a plenary session for the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Protesters rally against Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic and his government in downtown Belgrade, Serbia, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Palestinians Ali Marouf and his mother Aisha cook on the roof of their home, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive, in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Widows and mothers of war victims gather for Iftar, the fast-breaking meal organized by local NGOs amid the rubble of homes of the Jobar neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People are silhouetted against the sunset at Papago Park in Phoenix, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order as youths hold up copies of the executive order they signed at an education event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A woman gets her face smeared with colored powder during the the Holi festival of colors in Chennai, India, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
St. John's guard RJ Luis Jr. celebrates with Zuby Ejiofor after winning the Big East regular season conference title NCAA college basketball game against Seton Hall in New York, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson celebrates his victory over Minnesota's Gable Steveson during a 285-pound match at the finals of the NCAA wrestling championship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Arizona guard Anthony Dell'Orso (3) and Duke center Patrick Ngongba II (21) battle for position on an inbounds pass during the first half of a Sweet 16 round NCAA college basketball tournament game in Newark, New Jersey, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Revelers share a kiss during the traditional Mud Block carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Women sing and dance during the International Women's Day celebration at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Revelers dressed as "Mascaritas" take part in a traditional carnival celebration in the village of Luzon, Spain, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Artist Sir Grayson Perry poses in front of one of his pieces on display at the exhibit "Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur" at The Wallace Collection in London, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Pope Francis appears at a window of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, March 23, 2025, where he has been treated for bronchitis and bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
Protesters clash with police during a rally against the passing of a revision of a military law that will allow military officers to serve in more government posts without resigning from the armed forces, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
Dragi Stojanov, left, holds a photograph of his son Tomche Stojanov, one of the victims of a massive nightclub fire, during a vigil in Kocani, North Macedonia, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Ukrainian servicemen react after returning from captivity during a POWs exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike as they are brought to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A boat rides through a frozen sea inlet outside of Nuuk, Greenland, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
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An ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth wears a costume during the Purim festival in Bnei Brak, Israel, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
Sled dogs mushed by Jeff Deeter, of Fairbanks, Alaska, run during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Amanda Loman)
A woman walks through a snow blanketed graveyard as the sun sets in Nuuk, Greenland, Feb. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Emilio Morenatti)
Afeli Bernice Adzo leans against the remains of her father's room as she looks at the ocean that destroyed her family's home in Avegadzi, Ghana, March 5, 2025 (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)
A Buddhist monk walks near a collapsed pagoda after an earthquake in Mandalay, central Myanmar, March 30, 2025. (AP Photo)
Rescuers work at the site of a high-rise building under construction that collapsed after a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Bangkok, Thailand, March 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Wason Wanichakorn)
Performers from the Unidos de Padre Miguel samba school dance during Carnival celebrations at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)
Sean Baker, winner of the awards for best original screenplay, best film editing, best director, and best picture for "Anora," attends the Governors Ball after the Oscars in Los Angeles, March 2, 2025. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People hold portraits of political prisoners of the 1944-1989 period during an event marking the day of the Anti-Communist Political Prisoners in Bucharest, Romania, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
A police officer tries to put out a fire during a protest against the electoral body's decision to reject the candidacy of Calin Georgescu in a presidential election redo in Bucharest, Romania, March 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)
As prisoners stand looking out from a cell, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a tour of the Terrorist Confinement Center in Tecoluca, El Salvador, March 26, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Police use pepper spray during a protest against the arrest and imprisonment of Istanbul's Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu in Istanbul, Turkey, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Huseyin Aldemir)
A half-moon sets behind the Sultanahmet Mosque during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Turkey, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Hostesses prepare tea for delegates before the start of a plenary session for the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, March 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Protesters rally against Serbia's President Aleksandar Vucic and his government in downtown Belgrade, Serbia, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Palestinians Ali Marouf and his mother Aisha cook on the roof of their home, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive, in Jabaliya, Gaza Strip, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
Widows and mothers of war victims gather for Iftar, the fast-breaking meal organized by local NGOs amid the rubble of homes of the Jobar neighborhood in Damascus, Syria, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
People are silhouetted against the sunset at Papago Park in Phoenix, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
U.S. President Donald Trump holds up a signed executive order as youths hold up copies of the executive order they signed at an education event in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
A woman gets her face smeared with colored powder during the the Holi festival of colors in Chennai, India, March 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
St. John's guard RJ Luis Jr. celebrates with Zuby Ejiofor after winning the Big East regular season conference title NCAA college basketball game against Seton Hall in New York, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
Oklahoma State's Wyatt Hendrickson celebrates his victory over Minnesota's Gable Steveson during a 285-pound match at the finals of the NCAA wrestling championship in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Arizona guard Anthony Dell'Orso (3) and Duke center Patrick Ngongba II (21) battle for position on an inbounds pass during the first half of a Sweet 16 round NCAA college basketball tournament game in Newark, New Jersey, March 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Revelers share a kiss during the traditional Mud Block carnival party in Paraty, Brazil, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Andre Penner)
Women sing and dance during the International Women's Day celebration at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria, March 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Sunday Alamba)
Revelers dressed as "Mascaritas" take part in a traditional carnival celebration in the village of Luzon, Spain, March 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Artist Sir Grayson Perry poses in front of one of his pieces on display at the exhibit "Grayson Perry: Delusions of Grandeur" at The Wallace Collection in London, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Pope Francis appears at a window of the Agostino Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome, March 23, 2025, where he has been treated for bronchitis and bilateral pneumonia since Feb. 14. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis)
Protesters clash with police during a rally against the passing of a revision of a military law that will allow military officers to serve in more government posts without resigning from the armed forces, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, March 24, 2025. (AP Photo/Trisnadi)
Dragi Stojanov, left, holds a photograph of his son Tomche Stojanov, one of the victims of a massive nightclub fire, during a vigil in Kocani, North Macedonia, March 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Visar Kryeziu)
Ukrainian servicemen react after returning from captivity during a POWs exchange between Russia and Ukraine, in Chernyhiv region, Ukraine, March 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
Mourners gather around the bodies of Palestinians who were killed in an Israeli airstrike as they are brought to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, March 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)
A boat rides through a frozen sea inlet outside of Nuuk, Greenland, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)
WASHINGTON (AP) — With a shove from President Donald Trump, House Republicans had hoped to hoist their budget framework to approval late Wednesday, but conservative GOP holdouts continued to have grave misgivings over allowing trillions of dollars in tax breaks without deep spending cuts.
Speaker Mike Johnson is almost daring the Republican hardliners to defy Trump and risk upending what the president calls the “big, beautiful bill," which is central to his agenda of tax cuts, mass deportations and a smaller federal government. The GOP speaker cannot afford many defections from his slim majority, thanks to unified Democratic opposition.
“Stop grandstanding!” Trump had admonished Republicans during a black-tie fundraising dinner at the National Building Museum Tuesday night.
Trump told them: “You just got to get there — close your eyes and get there."
But by Wednesday afternoon, the conservative Republicans stood firmly against the plan, throwing the schedule in flux.
“The intention is to have the vote by this evening, and we’ll see when that time is,” Johnson told reporters at the Capitol. “Very positive, productive discussions. Everybody is moving forward."
Pushing the budget framework forward would be a milestone for Johnson, who had set a deadline of the congressional spring break recess Thursday for advancing the resolution. But a failed vote, particularly as the economy is convulsing over Trump's trade wars, would prove a major setback for the embattled speaker and the Republican agenda in Washington.
It's coming as Trump's tariff onslaught has left lawmakers on edge. Hours before the House was ready to vote, Trump paused much of his ambitious tariffs scheme, giving financial markets a bounce after days of turmoil and warnings of a U.S. recession.
“We are at a critical inflection point, with a generational opportunity,” said Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the chair of the House Budget Committee, at a rules meeting ahead of voting.
But House GOP conservatives, including several of those who met personally with Trump at the White House this week, remain concerned that the Senate GOP's blueprint, approved last weekend, does not slash spending to the level they believe is necessary to help prevent soaring deficits.
“The Math Does Not Add Up,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, posted on social media. He said he would not support it.
Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., the chair of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, said he was planning to meet with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to insist on deeper cuts.
“We'll hear what he has to say,” Harris said.
Wednesday's vote would be another step in a weeks, if not months, long process. The House and Senate must resolve their differences with more votes ahead on the final product later this spring or summer.
Democrats, in the minority, do not have enough votes to stop the package, but have warned against it.
Pennsylvania Rep. Brendan Boyle, the ranking Democrat on the budget committee, said whether the House or Senate version, the proposed GOP budget cuts would deeply harm Medicaid, the health care program used by tens of millions of Americans.
“This will have a devasting impact on my district, my state — and all 435 congressional districts throughout our land,” Boyle said.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said the Republicans' budget plan is reckless and callous as it proposes slashing budgets to give tax breaks to the wealthy.
“We’re here to make it clear,” Jeffries said. “Hands off everyday Americans struggling to make ends meet.”
The budget framework starts the process of the Republican effort to preserve the tax breaks approved in 2017, during Trump's first term, while potentially adding the new ones he promised on the campaign trail. That includes no taxes on tipped wages, Social Security income and others, ballooning the price tag to some $7 trillion over the decade.
The package also allows for budget increases with some $175 billion to pay for Trump's mass deportation operation and as much for the Defense Department to bolster military spending.
It all would be partly paid for with steep cuts to domestic programs, including health care, as part of the $2 trillion in reductions outlined in the House GOP version of the package, though several GOP senators have signaled they are not willing to go that far.
To clip costs, the Senate is using an unusual accounting method that does not count the costs of preserving the 2017 tax cuts, some $4.5 trillion, as new spending, another factor that is enraging the House conservatives.
Two Republican senators voted against their package during an overnight weekend session — Maine Sen. Susan Collins objected to steep cuts to Medicaid in the House's framework, while Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul argued the whole package relied on “fishy” math that would add to the debt.
The package would also boost the nation's debt limit to allow more borrowing to pay the bills. Trump had wanted lawmakers to take the politically difficult issue off the table. With debt now at $36 trillion, the Treasury Department has said it will run out of funds by August.
But the House and Senate need to resolve their differences on the debt limit, as well. The House GOP raises the debt limit by $4 trillion, but the Senate GOP boosted it to $5 trillion so the Congress would not have to revisit the issue again until after the fall 2026 midterm election.
With Trump's trade wars hovering over the debate, House Republicans tucked a provision into a procedural vote that would prevent House action – as the Senate has taken – to disapprove of Trump’s tariffs.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks to reporters about his push for a House-Senate compromise budget resolution to advance President Donald Trump's agenda, even with opposition from hard-line conservative Republicans, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Mass., the ranking member of the House Rules Committee, challenges Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, as President Donald Trump's top domestic priorities on spending reductions and tax breaks are prepared for a floor vote, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, listens as the Republican plan to advance President Donald Trump's top domestic priorities on spending reductions and tax breaks is prepared in the House Rules Committee for a floor vote, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. The deficit hawk has blasted the GOP plan drawing the ire of both Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, joined at right by Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., the ranking member, defends the Republican plan to advance President Donald Trump's top domestic priorities on spending reductions and tax breaks as the House Rules Committee prepares the measure for a floor vote, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)