Fiscal hawks on the House Budget Committee on Friday sunk a key vote on advancing the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” that encompasses President Trump’s legislative agenda, marking a stunning setback for the legislation.
The 16-21 vote throws up a hurdle for leaders hoping to send the bill to the Senate by Memorial Day — but are still haggling over last minute changes to appease not only the fiscal hawks but moderates seeking bigger blue-state tax breaks.
Five Republicans voted no: Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.). Republicans could only afford to lose two of their members and still advance the legislation. Smucker changed his vote from yes to no in a procedural move.
“To be clear—I fully support the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). My vote today in the Budget Committee is a procedural requirement to preserve the committee’s opportunity to reconsider the motion to advance OBBB,” Smucker wrote on X.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) called the committee into recess after the vote. Rep. Glenn Grothmann (R-Wis.) said members were told they could go home.
Negotiations took place during the committee markup in a neighboring room with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), but leaders apparently did not make enough progress to sway the holdouts.
“This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits,” Rep Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of those holdouts, said during the markup.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), another one of the holdouts, said he was “very disappointed” with the state of the measure, adding in the committee: “Sadly, I’m a hard no until we get this ironed out.”
The megabill combines an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts with cuts to entitlement and food assistance programs and other measures that Republicans project will save at least $1.5 trillion over the course of a decade. Those include Medicaid reforms, such as new beefed up work requirements on “able-bodied” adults, that are projected to result in millions losing health coverage; repealing green energy tax credits that Democrats enacted in 2022; and making states share the cost of food assistance for the first time.
But while House committees completed marathon markups on those major areas this week, last-minute changes are being negotiated.
Moderate Republicans want an increase of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap – currently written as $30,000 in the legislation. But to make up for that, fiscal hawks want changes to the bill to get more savings elsewhere.
Conservatives are seeking assurances on those changes, including expediting the implementation of the new Medicaid work requirements and accelerating the rollback of green energy tax credits. They have also asked for changes that would make moderates balk, like lowering the federal Medicaid matching rate for the ObamaCare expansion population.
Norman said he needs those commitments “in writing.”
“It’s a sticking point because it’s huge money,” he said, adding, “I’m tired of smoke and mirrors.”
Scalise said Republicans are working with the Trump administration to examine the timeline for kicking in provisions of the party’s sprawling package, a detail that has emerged as a key sticking point for the conservatives.
“What they want to see is progress and get answers on some of the questions and expedite the timelines,” Scalise said. “We’re all in agreement on the reforms we want to make. We want to have work requirements, we want to phase out a lot of these green subsidies.”
“How quickly can you get it done? And it’s not as quick as saying you just turn it off tomorrow,” he continued. “Some things the administration does have to actually create a process to implement it, and we want to make sure that the Trump administration has the time they need while pushing it as fast as possible. So those are the conversations we’re having and we’re making a lot of progress.”
In a display of the high stakes, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) made a surprise appearance at the markup after he had been expected to be absent due to the birth of his second child just a week earlier.
“I’m here to support the president’s agenda,” Gill told reporters heading into the markup.
Trump put the pressure on holdout during the markup in a post on his social media site Truth Social, calling on Republicans to unite.
“We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!” Trump said.
That lobbying campaign, however, did not appear to immediately move sentiments. Norman told reporters he saw Trump’s post.
“He wants to get it done, I do too. But we want to put forth his policies, which we’re doing,” Norman told reporters mid-markup, referencing the green energy tax credits: “Phasing them out. Not one of them, all of them.”
Updated at 12:15 p.m.
