 "US Capitol Police patrol the plaza as House Republicans work inside to pass President Donald Trump's signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts by a self-imposed Fourth of July deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, on Wednesday. AP")
Momentum appears to be building around the passage of President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending bill, following a meeting on Wednesday between House Republican hardliners and Trump at the White House.
Multiple lawmakers from the House Freedom Caucus — including vocal holdouts Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Tim Burchett (R-TN) — attended the meeting, which came amid intensifying negotiations over the legislation.
The bill, already passed by the Senate, faces resistance from fiscal conservatives concerned about the scope and cost of the package.
Following the meeting, several members signaled a softening of their positions, raising hopes among Republican leadership that the bill could advance.
After meting Trump at White House, Tennessee Rep. Burchett, a key GOP holdout, told CNN he is moving closer to voting yes on President Trump’s domestic agenda bill.
“It puts me a little closer. We’re going to meet a little bit here and go over everything and make sure we got all our facts straight,” Burchett said. “The president was very informative.”
Burchett, whose meeting at the White House lasted for two hours, said the members who were in his meeting at the White House wanted to meet together again to discuss before a final vote.
Earlier, Burchett, who supported the House version of the bill despite initial concerns over spending levels, had told reporters he remains undecided on how he will vote on the Senate-passed version.
“I don’t care if it’s July 40th, honestly," CNN quoted Burchett as saying, explaining that Trump’s July 4 deadline “push(es) us up against to what we’re doing right now and that’s panicking.”
Impact Shorts
More ShortsRepublican Nebraska Rep. Don Bacon, who recently announced he will not seek reelection, told CNN he will vote to support the Senate’s version of President Trump’s domestic policy bill — even though he conceded cuts to Medicaid will hurt Republicans in the midterms.
South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, who also earlier met with Trump, told reporters he believes the president will be “the closer” on the bill.
House Speaker Mike Johnson also touted the “very positive” progress made toward passing the bill, but he acknowledged not all House Republicans are going to be happy with the final package.
“When you have a piece of legislation that is this comprehensive and with so many agenda items involved, you’re going to have lots of different priorities and preferences among people because they represent different districts and they have different interests,” CNN quoted him as saying.
“But we can’t make everyone 100% happy. It’s impossible. This is a deliberative body. It’s a legislative process. By definition, all of us have to give up on our personal preferences. (I’m) never going to ask anybody to compromise core principles, but preferences must be yielded for the greater good, and that’s what I think people are recognizing and come to grips with,” he continued.
It remains unclear if Johnson has the GOP support needed to pass the bill as the House prepares to take a key procedural vote to get the bill closer to final passage.
The bill passed the Senate 51-50 on Tuesday, thanks to Vice President JD Vance’s tiebreaking vote.
Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way this year, often succeeding by only one vote. Their House majority stands at just 220-212, leaving little room for defections.
Meanwhile, House Republicans are pressing ahead with a key procedural vote to advance President Trump’s agenda, even as they currently remain short of the votes, reported CNN.
If it succeeds, this would be the last big step before final passage later on Wednesday. Then, if approved, it’s off to Trump’s desk.
Tensions are expected to flare during the procedural “rule” vote, as House conservatives — and possibly some moderates — may push back, potentially holding the vote open for hours in an effort to sway remaining holdouts.
GOP leaders are counting on a meeting with former President Trump to help persuade right-wing skeptics, particularly members of the House Freedom Caucus, to support the rule, which is a key step toward final passage of Trump’s spending bill.
With a narrow majority, Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose no more than three votes if all members are present.
With inputs from agencies