The Republican skeptics needed concrete commitments from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

“We have now three strong statements from the speaker, the President, and the Senate Majority Leader. We did not have those 48 hours ago. We do now,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), policy chairman for the Freedom Caucus, told reporters after the resolution passed 216 to 214 on Thursday.

Roy was among the holdouts who were enraged that the Senate’s budget resolution, passed last weekend, treated the House’s call for $1.5 trillion as an aspirational goal and set spending cuts at just $4 billion.

Without concrete assurances from the Senate and the speaker, holdouts refused to budge, and Johnson was forced to pull the measure from the floor after speaking with skeptics for over an hour with no luck in persuading them.

However, Thune went on record on Thursday morning that the Senate is “aligned with the House” on savings. He noted that “a lot” of senators view the $1.5 trillion in cuts as a “minimum” but stopped short of firmly confirming the figure as set in stone.

“We’re certainly going to do everything we can to be as aggressive as possible to see that we are serious about the matter, not only making our federal government more fiscally sustainable, but also deficit reduction, which is critical to a lot of our members in the Senate, and I know to his members in the House,” Thune said.

“Did you ever hear a commitment like that before?” Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) quipped when asked what changed deficit hawks’ minds.

Though some Freedom Caucus and other conservative members were still unsatisfied by Thune’s comments, all Republicans but Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Victoria Spartz (R-IN) voted to pass the budget resolution.

Roy said their “yes” votes were hinged on three commitments. The White House promised significant spending cuts, which Rep. Eric Burlison (R-MO) said were provided “on paper.” 

“We got a firm commitment from the speaker about making sure he maintains the framework we put in the House bill that will guarantee the connectivity between spending and taxes,” Roy told reporters of the second commitment. “That was put very explicitly to us.”

The last commitment came from Thune’s comments — Roy said holdouts’ support for the reconciliation legislation relies on Johnson’s promise to them. Johnson sent a letter to holdouts on Thursday morning, committing to the framework in writing.

Rep. Rich McCormick (R-GA) told the Washington Examiner that “Thune and the president” changed his mind.

Thune played a large part in negotiations this week as he met with Freedom Caucus members and other holdouts before the budget resolution vote on Wednesday. The Senate majority leader and Johnson worked together meticulously over the last four months to get this bill passed, with Trump urging Republicans to move as quickly as possible to implement his agenda within the first two years of his term.

“Congratulations to the House on the passage of a Bill that sets the stage for one of the Greatest and Most Important Signings in the History of our Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Among many other things, it will be the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts ever even contemplated. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

Johnson took a victory lap after the budget resolution passed, telling reporters, “I told you not to doubt us.” He noted that Trump did not have to “call a single member” to get them to pass the budget and praised Thune for his influence in its final passage.

“I’m so grateful to Leader Thune in his steady hand of leadership. We had a joint press conference this morning making our commitments known of what we’re going to try to do, and that is ensure real savings for the American people because we have to do that,” Johnson said to reporters after the budget resolution passed. “We have a responsibility to get our country back in a sound fiscal trajectory and also make sure that we ensure and protect those essential programs.”

One area of particular concern for House conservatives was the Senate’s use of a novel accounting method that assumes the extension of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act would have no effect on the deficit, therefore blunting the need to find trillions in cuts elsewhere to pay for it.

Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) said the speaker promised the final product for reconciliation would not increase the deficit.

But Massie, who voted against the budget resolution in February and regularly deviates from his party on spending legislation, scoffed at this.

“It’s a fantasy,” Massie said. “You can’t tell your voters that you’re going to cut taxes and increase spending, and everything’s going to turn out OK because it’s not.”

HOUSE GOP HOLDOUTS BACK DOWN AND GIVE TRUMP BUDGET RESOLUTION WIN

When asked how he felt about his Republican colleagues agreeing to vote for the budget resolution based on Thune’s comments and mostly verbal assurances, Massie laughed.

“I hope it works out for the people who trade their vote for a promise,” the Kentucky Republican said. “I think that’s just salve for their conscience.”