Why Trump's ‘big beautiful' tax bill is hanging by a thread as House Republicans rebel

Indian Express

7 hours ago

The US House of Representatives worked into the early hours of Thursday morning as President Donald Trump pushed to secure final passage of a sweeping tax and spending bill—his defining legislative priority of his second term. Despite his party's control over both chambers of Congress, Trump has struggled to unify Republicans behind the bill, which promises to extend his 2017 tax cuts while slashing Medicaid and expanding military and border spending.
The legislation narrowly cleared the Senate in an overnight vote on Tuesday. But in the House, Trump has faced a sharper challenge. After nearly seven hours of procedural wrangling late Wednesday night, the bill cleared a key hurdle that allowed it to be brought to the House floor for a final vote. That vote, expected before Trump's July 4 deadline, remains uncertain.
'The House is ready to vote tonight,' Trump posted on social media Wednesday, insisting that Republicans were 'united' to deliver 'massive growth.'
However, at least half a dozen Republican representatives have expressed serious concerns. Their complaints have ranged from warnings about the bill's ballooning effect on the national deficit to fears that it cuts too deeply into federal healthcare and food subsidy programs.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the Senate's version of the bill would add $3.3 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade, compared to the $2.8 trillion projected under the earlier House version.
That projection triggered outrage from fiscal conservatives in the powerful House Freedom Caucus, whose members have been among the bill's most vocal opponents. Texas Republican Chip Roy said the Senate version had pushed the odds of meeting Trump's deadline into doubt. Freedom Caucus chairman Andy Harris of Tennessee backed Elon Musk's criticism of the bill. 'He understands finances, he understands debts and deficits, and we have to make further progress,' Harris told Fox News.
Other Republicans echoed the concern. Ohio's Warren Davidson posted on X: 'Promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending.'
The spending in question centres in part on cuts to Medicaid, the government's health insurance program for low-income Americans. The House bill would result in 11 million people losing coverage.
'I've been clear from the start that I will not support a final reconciliation bill that makes harmful cuts to Medicaid, puts critical funding at risk, or threatens the stability of healthcare providers,' said California Republican David Valadao, who represents a swing district.
That concern is also shared by representatives from poorer districts worried about blowback in the 2026 midterms. According to The Hill, six Republicans at one point planned to vote the bill down due to fears over key healthcare provisions.
If the bill passes, it would extend the 2017 tax cuts, originally set to expire, while funding two major planks of Trump's platform: border security and defence spending. But those measures are offset through controversial cuts. In addition to healthcare, the Senate version also reduces food subsidies and modifies the so-called SALT deduction—the amount taxpayers can deduct for state and local taxes.