Republican deficit hawk tells Trump he needs to 'pray' before voting on GOP budget

Four Republicans known for being deficit hawks face pressure from President Donald Trump to sign off on a GOP-led budget that experts warn could add to the deficit.

And at least one said he needs to "pray" on the matter before the vote after getting an earful from Trump.

Reps. Thomas Massie (KY), Victoria Spartz (IN), Warren Davidson (OH) and Tim Burchett (TN) have all indicated they oppose the budget bill that will be debated on the House floor on Tuesday night.

Trump argued that he wanted to eliminate deficits and part of his Department of Government Efficiency initiative aims to do just that. Now, however, Trump wants Republicans to get behind a budget plan that includes $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over the next decade. The plan also aims for $2 trillion in spending cuts, though Republicans have been light on the specifics of these cuts, which are poised to be worked out by individual House committees.

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"A $4 trillion debt ceiling raise will be a tough sell with the most ideologically pure Republicans," wrote Reese Gorman at NOTUS.

Politico reported Tuesday that Burchett told Trump in a phone call he needed to pray over it.

"I told him that I would talk about it, think about it, pray about it. And that’s what I'm doing," Burchett said. He promised he would "make my decision ... right before I walk up" to vote.