US Speaker Johnson has to negotiate incredibly tight margins and can likely only lose three lawmakers among more than two dozen who have openly declared to reject Trump’s bill.
Donald Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill remained in limbo early Thursday as Republican leaders in Congress scrambled to salvage the president’s top domestic priority amid growing resistance from within their own ranks.
The House of Representatives was expected to give final approval to the Senate-passed version of Trump’s so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but internal GOP divisions have thrown the process into chaos. The legislation faces opposition from both moderate and hardline Republicans, who are either alarmed by its steep social safety net cuts or its $3.4 trillion addition to the national debt.
House Speaker Mike Johnson kept a crucial procedural vote open well past midnight, more than two hours after it began, in a last-ditch effort to corral holdouts. Behind closed doors, GOP leaders huddled with dissenting lawmakers who either voted no or hadn’t shown up at all.
“We’re going to get there tonight. We’re working on it and feel very, very positive about our progress,” Johnson told reporters, according to Politico.
Though the House had originally passed the bill in May, it returned to the chamber Wednesday for a final sign-off on Senate revisions, which shifted the bill further to the right in an attempt to win over conservatives.
High Stakes and Tight Margins
The bill delivers on many of Trump’s key campaign promises: a $4.5 trillion extension of his first-term tax cuts, expanded military funding, and $350 billion for a mass deportation program. But it also imposes historic cuts to Medicaid and food assistance programs—moves that could leave up to 17 million Americans without health coverage and shutter rural hospitals across the country.
Moderate Republicans fear political backlash over these cuts in their districts, while fiscal hawks argue the bill doesn’t go far enough in reducing spending. Johnson, managing razor-thin margins, can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes, with more than two dozen lawmakers on the fence.
Republican leaders initially expected to wrap up voting within a few hours Wednesday afternoon. But instead, they found themselves in a prolonged showdown, including one procedural vote that remained open for seven hours and 31 minutes—the longest vote in House history.
Trump Turns Up the Heat
Trump has been personally lobbying wavering Republicans, holding a private White House meeting with key holdouts Wednesday evening. Just after midnight, he took to Truth Social to express frustration:
“What are the Republicans waiting for? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”
The bill passed the Senate Tuesday by a single vote, following a flurry of amendments that led three Republican senators—one conservative and two moderates—to walk away over either fiscal concerns or health care cuts. The 887-page bill is expected to increase the national debt by over $3 trillion over the next decade.
Musk Escalates Feud with Trump
Outside Congress, the bill sparked fierce backlash from Elon Musk, who has publicly opposed its rollback of green energy subsidies and overall cost. Musk, whose companies benefit from billions in federal contracts, has threatened to form a new political party in protest and dared Trump to cut off his subsidies entirely.
Trump, in turn, lashed out on social media, implying Musk could be deported and calling him “the most subsidized man in history.”
Democrats Prepare to Pounce
House Democrats are preparing to use the bill as a central attack point in the 2026 midterms, casting it as a blatant handout to the wealthy at the expense of working-class Americans.
“Shame on Senate Republicans for passing this disgusting abomination,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “This bill represents a historic transfer of wealth—from those who need help to those who need nothing.”
While Trump has imposed a July 4 deadline for signing the bill, Republican leaders now face a ticking clock and a party on the verge of open revolt.
