Thursday, 03 July 2025

DEVELOPING: ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Clears Critical Procedural House Vote

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The House of Representatives cleared a critical procedural hurdle early Thursday morning to advance the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ to a final vote.

In a 219-213 vote, the House advanced the legislation for debate before a final vote.

GOP leaders had to work throughout the night to flip Republican holdouts.

Republicans hold a narrow 220-212 majority in the House, meaning they can afford no more than three defections for final passage.

The New York Post noted:

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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,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) 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.

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The procedural vote began at 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday night and carried into early Thursday morning, ending around 3:20 a.m. ET.

The final vote is expected sometime Thursday.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries spoke on the floor after the procedural vote.

Here’s a snippet:

More info from CBS News:

House GOP leaders had aimed to move ahead quickly on the signature legislation of Mr. Trump’s second-term agenda, which includes ramped-up spending for border security, defense and energy production and extends trillions of dollars in tax cuts, partially offset by substantial cuts to health care and nutrition programs.

But some House Republicans, who voted to pass an earlier version of the bill in May, were unhappy with the Senate’s changes.

Potential holdouts, including moderates and members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, met with Mr. Trump on Wednesday as the White House pressured House Republicans to vote for the bill. One lawmaker called the meetings “very productive.” But GOP Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, told reporters earlier Wednesday that he expected the procedural vote to fail in the afternoon.

In a possible sign of movement, one key Republican, Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson, announced on X Wednesday evening that he’d support the bill. It “isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we’ll get,” he wrote, adding that he would support the rule and final passage. Davidson was one of two Republicans who voted against the bill when the House first voted on the measure in May.

The president kept up the pressure, posting on Truth Social about June’s low border crossing statistics and adding, “All we need to do is keep it this way, which is exactly why Republicans need to pass “THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.”

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Several members on both sides of the aisle had their flights canceled or delayed by bad weather as they raced back to Washington for the vote, delaying the process. All the Democrats appeared to be on hand for proceedings by Wednesday afternoon.


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