Washington — The House is voting Thursday on President Trump’s domestic policy bill, hours after unveiling an updated version of the legislation that Republican leaders hope will satisfy enough holdouts.
The measure cleared a critical hurdle — a procedural vote to begin debate on the massive budget package — in the wee hours of the morning, teeing up the vote on final passage after days of consternation among the House Republican conference.
The legislation, which addresses the president’s tax, defense and energy priorities, has overcome several setbacks since the beginning of the year after GOP leadership made repeated assurances to holdouts that their concerns would be addressed later if they kept the legislation moving forward.
But as Speaker Mike Johnson’s self-imposed deadline to get the measure across the finish line in the House by Memorial Day quickly approached, the Louisiana Republican was facing increasing opposition from several factions of his party to parts of the bill involving Medicaid, the state and local tax deduction and other provisions.
A 42-page managers amendment released by House GOP leaders late Wednesday includes changes to win over both the budget hardliners in the House Freedom Caucus and blue-state Republicans pressing to ease the tax burden on their constituents. The new version would, among other things, move up the implementation of Medicaid work requirements from the beginning of 2029 to the end of 2026, a change sought by hardliners.
Another change to the bill would more quickly end tax credits for new renewable energy power plants, requiring them to begin construction within 60 days of the enactment of the legislation and be in service by the end of 2028. The measure makes an exception for nuclear plants, which must be under construction by the end of 2028.
Johnson can only afford three defections if all members are present and voting, given his slim majority. Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the sole Republican to oppose the key procedural vote on the measure earlier Thursday.
“If something is beautiful, you don’t do it after midnight,” Massie said on the House floor.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise, a Louisiana Republican, delivered his final pitch to House Republicans ahead of the vote, urging that the bill will deliver on GOP promises.
“If you vote no, you’re voting against American energy, you’re voting against securing America’s border, you’re voting against helping those middle class families,” Scalise said.
Johnson touted the legislation on the House floor, saying it “gets Americans back to winning again.”
“This one big beautiful bill is the most consequential legislation that any, any party has passed, certainly under a majority this thin,” the speaker said.
All Democrats are expected to oppose the package. And after House Democrats threw up procedural roadblocks overnight to delay a vote on the measure, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries railed against the bill in a speech from the House floor early Thursday, calling it a “reckless, regressive and reprehensible GOP tax scam.”
“This is one big, ugly bill that House Republicans are trying to jam down the throats of the American people under the cover of darkness,” Jeffries said.
The New York Democrat, alluding to the midterm elections next year, warned that “this day might very well turn out to be the day that House Republicans lost control of the United States House of Representatives.”
The vote comes after right-wing holdouts met Wednesday afternoon with Mr. Trump and Johnson at the White House. After the meeting, Johnson huddled with other members of the Republican conference to brief them on the changes while House Freedom Caucus members met separately.
Before the White House meeting Wednesday, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said he wasn’t optimistic the bill could pass this week, though he was “pretty confident” it could be passed within 10 days.
But other budget hardliners said after the meeting that negotiations were headed in the right direction.
During a visit to the Capitol Tuesday, Mr. Trump pressured Republicans to fall in line behind the legislation — which House GOP leaders have named “The Big, Beautiful Bill” — and suggested that those who don’t could face primary challenges.
In a statement of administrative policy issued Wednesday, the White House Office of Management and Budget urged House Republicans to pass the measure, saying it “reflects the shared priorities of both Congress and the Administration,” adding, “failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.”
The details of the updated version of the legislation came together in the final hours before the vote.
Johnson also negotiated with Republicans from blue states over a provision on state and local tax deductions, known as SALT. The moderates advocated for an increase to the SALT cap, currently set at $10,000, but argued that the $30,000 cap outlined in the package remained too low. An agreement was reached to increase the deduction to $40,000 per household for incomes up to $500,000, according to the managers amendment.
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York said Wednesday night that, with the increase, he believed all those opposed to the original provision were now on board.
But even if Johnson is able to shepherd the legislation through the lower chamber, it’s expected to face resistance in the Senate — where numerous Republicans have said they’ll seek changes to the bill.
Johnson met with Senate Republicans to discuss the budget process Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters Wednesday that the speaker would “like to see as little change to the product as possible, because they cobble together a very delicate balance over there.” But Thune said “the Senate will have its imprint on it.”
#Watch #Live #House #voting #Trumps #budget #bill #allnight #session
