Late Sunday evening, President Donald Trump’s long-anticipated “one big, beautiful bill” edged forward after a tightly contested vote in the House Budget Committee. The 17-16 party-line vote followed days of intense negotiation between Republican leadership and conservative holdouts wary of the bill’s size and implications for the federal deficit.
Four Republican members who had opposed the measure in an earlier attempt changed their stance to vote “present,” allowing the bill to move forward. Their concerns had centered around entitlement reform, environmental spending, and the long-term impact on the national debt.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) described the recent negotiations as “great,” noting that “minor modifications” were made to address conservative concerns. While the specifics of those changes weren’t made public, Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-TX) admitted the situation remained fluid and the details were still in flux at the time of the vote.
Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), one of the previous holdouts, indicated that the breakthrough had to do with forward movement on Medicaid work requirements and scaling back subsidies for what he called the “green new scam.” Yet Roy remained cautious, warning that the bill’s structure still risked expanding federal health programs in states like Texas that had previously resisted Obamacare expansion.
The bill’s scope is significant. Moving through the reconciliation process, it would retain Trump-era tax cuts, raise the debt ceiling, and fund a wide range of domestic initiatives aligned with the former president’s policy vision. These include reining in progressive environmental subsidies and applying stricter eligibility rules to federal aid programs.
Internal Republican unity remains fragile. While adjustments made to satisfy fiscal hawks helped the bill advance, those same provisions risk alienating GOP lawmakers from high-tax blue states. One flashpoint is the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, which remains fixed at $30,000 — a figure lawmakers from New York, New Jersey, and California argue is too low for their constituents.
Democrats have mounted fierce resistance to the bill, arguing it will strip healthcare from millions and reward the wealthy. Despite this opposition, Speaker Johnson remains committed to pushing the bill through swiftly. In a Sunday interview on Fox News, Johnson said the goal was to move the bill to the House Rules Committee by midweek, with a floor vote by the week’s end.
Republican leadership now faces the challenge of preserving enough internal consensus to deliver a win while resisting Democratic narratives that seek to undermine the effort. With a Memorial Day deadline looming, the coming week will determine whether this massive policy package can become law.
