House Republicans are preparing to vote on critical amendments to the GOP megabill Wednesday, aiming to address concerns raised by the Senate parliamentarian and ensure the measure can pass with a simple majority. The proposed changes target several contentious provisions that the Senate flagged as threats to the bill’s filibuster-skirting power, including the employee retention tax credit, which was relied upon for $6.3 billion in savings, as well as funding for military intelligence programs and missile development. Additionally, the bill would lose provisions on environmental policies, such as allowing mining in a protected wilderness area, reversing President Joe Biden’s move to protect the Boundary Waters area. Other provisions include ending food aid for certain households and extending biofuel procurement requirements. By cutting these items, the bill retains its ability to pass the Senate with a simple majority, rather than requiring 60 votes. While Senate Republicans are still considering their own amendments and could seek to restore some of the measures now on the chopping block, these changes need to be fixed now before the Senate votes on it. More policies could still get slashed in the coming weeks as Senate Republicans begin their first ‘Byrd bath’ rulings from the parliamentarian on additional GOP proposals under challenge from Democrats. House GOP leaders are embedding the fixes in the procedural measure they’re using to set up debate on the $9.4 billion rescissions package, which even the most conservative Republicans support, but this won’t be the case when the bill returns from the Senate in a few weeks as leaders hope.
In addition to these amendments, there are other developments in the political landscape that may influence the bill’s progress. Key farm-state Republican senators had a heated meeting with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other Trump administration officials over the Make America Healthy Again report, which criticized pesticide use. Critics of the report are concerned it paints U.S.-produced foods as unsafe to consume. The Trump administration is expected to meet with more GOP lawmakers and agriculture groups over the coming weeks before releasing a final list of MAHA-related policy recommendations later this summer. Meanwhile, Trump administration officials will testify before various House and Senate committees on Wednesday, including Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and HUD Secretary Scott Turner. These developments highlight the complex interplay between legislative priorities, policy challenges, and political dynamics as the GOP continues to negotiate and finalize the megabill.