The House Rules Committee advanced the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” early Wednesday morning after an hours-long meeting, sending the legislation to the floor for consideration as its fate in the chamber remains unclear.
The panel adopted the procedural rule in a 7-6 vote, with two Republicans — Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — siding with Democrats against the measure, showcasing their opposition to the underlying legislation over deficit concerns.
The hearing ran for nearly 12 hours, with Democrats needling Republicans about the bill, GOP lawmakers largely praising the measure and some hardline conservatives criticizing its contents. The panel convened at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Tuesday and gaveled out just after 1 a.m. EDT on Wednesday.
Despite the successful vote, the legislation is far from being out of the woods.
The full chamber must now debate and vote to adopt the procedural rule, which could get dicey as a handful of hardline conservatives vow to oppose the effort. If the rule fails, legislative business in the House would be brought to a standstill, threatening to thwart leadership’s goal of sending President Trump the package by July 4, which is Friday.
Republicans can only afford to lose three votes and still clear the procedural hurdle, assuming full attendance and united Democratic opposition. The House is scheduled to convene on Wednesday at 9 a.m. EDT, with debate first, then a vote.
Two of those defectors, however, are already called for: Norman and Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, say they will vote against the rule on the floor — and Harris said others will join them.
“That’s exactly why a group of us are not going to vote to advance the bill until we iron out some of the deficit problems with the bills,” Harris said on Fox News when asked about Elon Musk’s criticism of the bill. “Look, Mr. Musk is right, we cannot sustain these deficits, he understands finances, he understands debts and deficits, and we have to make further progress. And I believe the Freedom Caucus will take the lead in making that further progress.”
“I don’t think the votes are there, just like they weren’t for the Senate initially until some concessions were made,” he added. “I believe that the rule vote will not pass tomorrow morning, and then the Speaker’s going to have to decide how he gets this back into the House framework.”
Rule votes have historically been routine, mundane occurrences, with the majority party voting in favor of the effort and the minority party voting against it. In recent years, however, those on the right-flank have used the procedure to express displeasure with specific legislation or leadership.
Despite those threats, attendance issues may scuttle the right-flank’s plans. A number of members from both parties are having trouble returning to Washington, D.C., amid inclement weather in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia area. Several lawmakers have said their flights back to the city were canceled.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday night said those conditions could influence when the bill comes up for a vote.
“We’re having weather delays getting everybody back right now, but assuming we have a full House we’ll get it through the Rules Committee in the morning, we’ll move that forward to the floor and hopefully we’re voting on this by tomorrow or Thursday at latest, depending on the weather and delays and all the rest, that’s the wildfire that we can’t control,” Johnson said on Fox News’ “Hannity” when asked about timing for the legislation.
Regardless, the megabill’s future in the House is on thin ice as a number of Republicans — from hardline conservatives to moderates — stake opposition to the legislation, threatening leadership’s goal of enacting the bill by Friday.
Conservatives are upset with the amount of money the bill would add to the deficit, while moderates are concerned about Medicaid cuts and the rollback of green-energy tax credits. The lawmakers prefer the original House bill, which they passed in July, over the Senate bill, which included a number of changes to their initial legislation.
Despite the lingering qualms, Johnson is showing no interest in changing the bill — which would require it to head back to the Senate for a final stamp of approval, a reality that most members have little appetite for.
“We knew we would come to this moment. We knew the Senate would amend the House product. I encouraged them to amend it as lightly as possible. They went a little further than many of us would have preferred, but we have the product now,” Johnson told reporters in the Capitol. “As the President said, it’s his bill. It’s not a House bill, it’s not a Senate bill, it’s the American people’s bill. And my objective and my responsibility is to get that bill over the line. So we will do everything possible to do that, and I will work with all of our colleagues.”
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