With a series of votes already underway, Republican leaders and White House officials have accelerated their all-hands-on-deck push Wednesday to get the GOP megabill through the House and to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Multiple groups of House Republican lawmakers who have aired grievances with the Senate-passed version of the domestic policy bill have met Wednesday with Speaker Mike Johnson and have visited the White House to speak with Trump, who has demanded the bill get done by July 4.
Some potential holdouts sounded close to backing the sweeping legislation. “In the end, it’s hard to vote against making tax cuts permanent and fixing defense,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who announced his retirement this week.
But a key group of conservative hard-liners signaled it was ready to dig in and fight for additional changes to the 887-page bill passed by the Senate.
Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the House Freedom Caucus, called on Trump to order senators back to town for further negotiations—an action that would almost certainly mean missing Trump’s July 4 deadline for final passage.
The Maryland Republican said he was ready to vote down the rule governing final debate of the megabill until it’s brought back closer to the House version.
“There’s a little work left to be done, but if the president calls the Senate back in town, we should be able to do it,” he said, adding, “I haven’t spoken to the president about it.”
Republican leaders, however, are intent on keeping the bill moving as quickly as possible, aware that any significant delays could embolden the intraparty holdouts. Asked about voting plans Wednesday morning, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Wednesday morning he expected final passage “sometime today.”
That could change if the holdouts band together and decide to withstand the lobbying blitz. Republicans were closely eyeing the early procedural votes; with full attendance, four GOP defections could sink the bill.
“If there’s four [GOP ‘nos’], there’s going to be 20—and it’s going to be a jailbreak,” said one House Republican granted anonymity to candidly describe internal dynamics.
After a series of meetings with various groups of holdouts, Johnson professed confidence Wednesday afternoon: “I feel good about where we are and where we’re heading.” GOP leaders managed to eke out a 212-211 victory on an early procedural vote forced by Democrats, but more crucial votes will follow.
A White House pressure campaign started ramping up Monday night, when Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and senior administration officials began a new round of public praise for the sweeping legislation—which includes a $5 trillion debt limit hike and deficit spending that has made many congressional Republicans anxious.
The White House officials have sought to tamp down the deficit concerns by encouraging members to ignore the costs of extending the 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of this year. Trump on Wednesday touted the bill’s