In a significant victory for President Donald Trump, the Republican-led House early Thursday morning passed what the president has championed as the “one big, beautiful bill,” with enough Republican holdouts coming around to support the comprehensive tax and budget package.
Trump met with House Republicans two days in a row as they hashed out last-minute changes to win over members from high-tax blue states who wanted a higher state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap and fiscal hawks who demanded more spending cuts. The final vote, a close 215-214, followed back-to-back all-night sessions in the Rules Committee and on the House floor.
“We planned and we worked and we locked arms together as a team. And we have delivered this against all odds,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in the final moments. “The media has tried to divide us. They’ve written our eulogy about 10 times. And you know what? Sometimes it’s good to be underestimated, isn’t it? But we got this done.”
Johnson managed to beat his deadline to pass the legislation by Memorial Day. It now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate for consideration. The Trump administration has indicated that it wants Congress to be done with the bill by July 4.
The bill aims to provide funding and support for Trump’s priorities on border security, energy, and national defense. It also seeks to retain tax cuts from 2017 set to expire at the end of this year, raise the debt limit by trillions of dollars, implement “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime” policies, block federal dollars from funding transgender procedures, and more.
The House led the charge in devising the finer details of the bill after Congress approved a budget framework last month. The budget reconciliation process they are using will allow the Senate, with its narrow Republican majority, to bypass the three-fifths majority threshold for overcoming a filibuster. Still, doing so may not be so easy, as some Republican senators expressed reservations with the measure as it came together in the House.
Last-minute tweaks to the bill, meant to placate certain Republicans, include moving up Medicaid work requirements by two years to the end of 2026, and phasing out wind and solar energy tax credits after 2028. In addition, the SALT deduction cap was raised to $40,000, an increase from the $30,000 limit that had initially been placed into the bill. Lawmakers also settled on the name “Trump accounts” for a $1,000 savings proposal for newborns.
Democrats levied various complaints against the bill, including claims that it would result in people losing healthcare coverage and benefit the rich. They all voted against the bill, as did Republican Reps. Warren Davidson (OH) and Thomas Massie (KY), who raised concerns about spending and the estimated trillions of dollars the legislation is projected to add to the national debt.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD), chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, voted “present.”
Proponents focused on touting how the legislation would prevent a massive tax hike for working families and would kick illegal immigrants off Medicaid, among other things. Trump’s budget chief, Russell Vought, told Daily Wire Editor Emeritus Ben Shapiro the legislation offers the “most historic level of mandatory savings that we’ve had, ever — $1.6 trillion” by reining in spending programs while fostering economic growth.
