House Republicans struggle to unite on Trump’s tax-cut bill

FLORIDA, JULY 3 (DNA):Republicans in the House of Representatives on Wednesday haltingly moved closer to advancing United States President Donald Trump’s massive tax-cut and spending bill, appearing at one point to overcome concerns over its cost that had been raised by a handful of hardliners.

But then the measure stalled again.

As lawmakers shuttled in and out of closed-door meetings, a procedural vote was held open for more than seven hours to give Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson time to convince holdouts to back the president’s signature bill.

In the end the procedural measure passed 220-212 along party lines, an indication but not a guarantee that Trump may have won over skeptics.

Voting then began on another preliminary measure needed to advance the bill to the main vote on the House floor, but Republicans then failed to muster enough votes as five Republican defectors — enough to kill it — voted against Trump. Any of those defectors could still change their vote.

Trump expressed frustration around midnight Washington time (0400 GMT) as the legislation he has marketed as One Big Beautiful Bill had not yet cleared the procedural hurdle, with voting continuing in the US House of Representatives.

“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,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform as Wednesday night gave way to Thursday morning.

A handful of so-called fiscal hawks, who oppose deficit spending, have voted “no” along with all the House Democrats, who are critical of cuts to social spending.

Republicans had appeared more optimistic on Wednesday night.

Leaving Speaker Johnson’s office, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer told Reuters progress was being made.

“There’s going to be a vote tonight, and we’ll finish voting on the rule, and then we’ll do the debate. We’ll vote on the bill,” Emmer said.

Trump had also struck an optimistic tone at that time, claiming in a social media post “the Republican House Majority is UNITED.”

The Senate passed the legislation, which nonpartisan analysts say will add $3.4 trillion to the nation’s $36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade, by the narrowest possible margin on Tuesday after intense debate on the bill’s hefty price tag and $900 million in cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for low-income Americans.

With a narrow 220-212 majority, Johnson can afford no more than three defections from his ranks. Earlier in the day, skeptics from the party’s right flank said they had more than enough votes to block the bill.

“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,” Republican Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, leader of the hardline Freedom Caucus, told reporters.

July 4 deadline

Trump, who is pressing lawmakers to get him the bill to sign into law by the July 4 Independence Day holiday, met with some of the dissenters at the White House.

Democrats are united in opposition to the bill, saying that its tax breaks disproportionately benefit the wealthy while cutting services that lower- and middle-income Americans rely on. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that almost 12 million people could lose health insurance as a result of the bill.

“This bill is catastrophic. It is not policy, it is punishment,” Democratic Representative Jim McGovern said in debate on the House floor.

Republicans in Congress have struggled to stay united in recent years, but they also have not defied Trump since he returned to the White House in January.

Any changes made by the House would require another Senate vote, which would make it all but impossible to meet the July 4 deadline.

The legislation contains most of Trump’s top domestic priorities, from tax cuts to immigration enforcement.

The bill would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, cut health and food safety net programs, fund Trump’s immigration crackdown, and zero out many green-energy incentives. It also includes a $5 trillion increase in the nation’s debt ceiling, which lawmakers must address in the coming months or risk a devastating default.

The Medicaid cuts have also raised concerns among some Republicans, prompting the Senate to set aside more money for rural hospitals.