President Donald Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill has been held up in the House of Representatives by a handful of Republican lawmakers refusing to back the legislation.
The bill faced opposition within the Republican Party, where members have voiced concerns about the trillions it is likely to add to the national debt and cuts to social safety-net programmes like Medicaid.
Five Republican holdouts voted “no” in the procedural vote to advance the legislation.
So far, 217 House Representatives have voted against advancing the legislation, including the five Republicans, while 207 are in favour.
The five Republican holdouts who voted “no” in the procedural vote to advance the legislation are Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Rep. Keith Self of Texas, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
House Speaker, Mike Johnson said that he would keep voting open “as long as it takes,” as senior Republicans attempted to turn opponents to the bill.
A news agency reported that Johnson said that he believes the Republican holdouts are “going to come on board.”
Johnson stated that he and his team are wrapping up conversations with Republicans who voted “no” to advancing the bill, or have yet to vote, and that he expects to proceed to a final vote on the legislation in the early hours of Thursday morning.
Johnson can afford to lose only three Republican votes if the bill is to advance to a final vote.
Members can change their vote until voting closes, and eight Republicans have yet to vote.
The bill is a piece of legislation that combines tax cuts, spending hikes on defence and border security, and cuts to social safety nets into one giant package.
In 2017, Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which lowered taxes and increased the standard deduction for all taxpayers, but it primarily benefitted higher-income earners. Those tax breaks are set to expire this year, but the new bill would make them permanent.
The bill sets aside about $350bn for Trump’s border and national security plans, including $46bn for the US-Mexico border wall, $45bn to fund 100,000 beds in migrant detention centres and billions more to hire an extra 10,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents by 2029.
To help offset the cost of the tax cuts and new spending, Republicans plan to scale back Medicaid – which helps Americans who are poor and those with disabilities – and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps people afford groceries.
Currently, more than 71 million people depend on Medicaid, and 40 million receive benefits through SNAP. According to the Congressional Budget Office, the bill would leave an additional 11.8 million Americans without health insurance by 2034 if it becomes law.
Republicans are pushing to significantly scale back tax incentives that support clean energy projects powered by renewables like solar and wind.
A tax break for people who buy new or used electric vehicles would expire on September 30 this year if the bill passes in its current form, instead of at the end of 2032 under current law.
Trump Slams Holdouts
As voting continues, Donald Trump lambasted the holdouts in a post on social media, labelling the delay as “ridiculous.” He stated, “FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE.”
In an earlier post, he expressed his anger at the delay.
“Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy. What are the Republicans waiting for???
“What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”
Donald Trump
Both Johnson and Trump have been adamant that the bill land on Trump’s desk in time for him to sign it on the Fourth of July.
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