Republicans in the House of Representatives are finding it hard to pass US President Donald Trump’s coveted ‘Big, Beautiful bill’ on tax cuts and spending as few GOP hardliners ceased their support over concerns surrounding the cost on Wednesday.
As Republican lawmakers huddled with closed-door meetings, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he was trying to convince the handful of GOP hardliners to support Trump’s signature bill and said, “We’re planning on a vote today.” President Trump has set a July 4 deadline for the Congress to pass the bill.
Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House of Representatives with 220-212, and Speaker Johnson cannot afford more than three defections from his ranks. Though skeptics from Republicans’ right flank said they had more than enough defection votes in order to block the bill.
No tax on Social Security!
PASS THE ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/VPdaxD1OtO
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 2, 2025
Republican Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, who is the leader of the hardline Freedom Caucus, said “He knows I’m a ‘no.’ He knows that I don’t believe there are the votes to pass this rule the way it is,” Reuters reported.
Trump met with some of the dissenters at the White House. But since the outcome was uncertain, the Republican leaders delayed the procedural vote for hours in order to gather majority support for the bill. Voting for the procedure is now underway in the House.
Earlier, the US Senate or upper chamber of Congress passed the legislation on Tuesday with Vice President JD Vance cast a tie-breaking vote after more than 24 hours of debate and blockade by some of the Republican senators.
Nonpartisan analysts have said that Trump’s spending and massive tax cut bill would add $3.4 trillion to the nation’s debt over the next decade, which is already lingering at $36.2 trillion. The bill has become controversial over $900 million in cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for low-income Americans.
If the House passes the key procedural vote on the bill then the members of the House would next move to debate on the bill and then to a final vote to send the bill for the president’s signature and make it into law.
