House GOP struggles to find final votes for Trump’s tax bill

Holding a key vote open for hours as the president and his allies worked to win them over but expressing confidence the legislation would eventually pass.

House Republican leaders struggled to find the final votes to advance Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package, holding a key vote open for hours as the president and his allies worked to win them over but expressing confidence the legislation would eventually pass.

They’re just not quite there yet.

ADVERTISEMENT CONTINUE READING BELOW

On a key procedural vote that began late Wednesday and continued into Thursday, five “no” votes appeared on the board from Republicans, while eight others held back their votes. That would be enough to set back the measure — House Speaker Mike Johnson can afford a maximum of just three defections in House after every Democrat opposed it.

Nevertheless, Johnson told a Wall Street Journal reporter that he believes some of the holdouts are coming around and that “this is going to end well.”

Despite Republicans controlling both the US House and Senate, Trump’s signature legislation has run into resistance from cost-conscious conservatives as well as swing-district moderates, who worry the measure cuts too deeply into Medicaid and other safety-net programs.

‘Costing you votes’

A failure to pass the legislation would be a huge political blow to Trump, who sees the bill as his priority legislative project. The “big beautiful bill” includes tax cuts Republicans campaigned on, a phase-out of Biden-era clean energy incentives and funding for Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

The president voiced his frustration with the delay shortly after midnight Washington time, more than two and a half hours after the vote began.

“Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”

The House vote in question was on the rule governing debate for the underlying tax measure. Historically, those are routine, party-line votes. However, in a House closely divided they can also become a venue for opponents to flex their leverage and seek to win concessions.

As House leaders furiously cajoled the holdouts and rebels, Johnson vowed to keep pressing through the night.

“I’ll keep it open for as long as it takes to make sure we’ve got everybody here accounted for and all the questions answered,” Johnson said in an interview on Fox News.

Delivering the bill

Trump and Johnson had projected confidence ahead of the critical procedural vote. As voting began, the speaker told reporters that “we’re in a good place,” adding that “we’re going to deliver the big beautiful bill.”

Trump was more effusive: “We had GREAT conversations all day, and the Republican House Majority is UNITED, for the Good of our Country, delivering the Biggest Tax Cuts in History and MASSIVE Growth,” the president said in a post on Truth Social.

House Speaker Mike Johnson in the Capitol on Wednesday

Earlier in the day, Johnson expressed optimism that enough Republican lawmakers would come around to the legislation, which includes tax cuts the party campaigned on, a phase-out of Biden-era clean energy incentives and funding for Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

‘The best we’ll get’

Their furious lobbying effort has moved some votes. Just not enough — yet.

Republican Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio, a fiscal conservative who voted against the initial House version of the legislation in May, said he would now support the measure.

“This bill isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we’ll get,” Davidson said in a social media post.

ADVERTISEMENT: CONTINUE READING BELOW

Even Representative Thomas Massie, who has been the most vocal critic of the measure among House Republicans, predicted opponents would eventually fall just short of the numbers needed to stop Trump’s bill, as they did the first time the House voted on it.

Earlier in the day, Trump summoned several conservatives to the White House to meet with them in person as well.

A key issue for that group is cost. The $3.4 trillion Senate bill adds more to the deficit than an earlier House version which clocked in at $2.8 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

‘Time to pass’

Any changes to the measure made to win over restive House Republicans would force the Senate to vote again on the bill, blowing Trump’s July 4 deadline, and adding weeks of potential delay to his flagship measure.

Concessions to hardliners would also risk antagonizing swing-district moderates in the House. A group of them says steeper cuts to Medicaid providers in the Senate bill than in the earlier House version will devastate hospitals in their districts.

The White House so far hasn’t been entertaining changes to the bill text itself, instead exploring with Republican lawmakers if their priorities could be addressed in other ways, such as by executive actions or in future legislation.

Trump has repeatedly blasted Republican lawmakers resisting the legislation as “grandstanders” and has threatened to oppose reelection of members who block his agenda.

“We are going to get this done. Trump is the best closer,” Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina, one of the House’s vote-counting whips, said. “The White House has made it clear we are done negotiating. It’s time to pass the bill.”

© 2025 Bloomberg

Follow Moneyweb’s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.