House Republicans expected to pass President Trump’s massive budget bill by July 4
After a vote that remained open for several hours as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., tried to convince five holdouts to advance President Trump’s signature legislation, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, House Republicans have cleared a key hurdle, setting the bill up for final passage ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline.
It is unclear what concessions Johnson made, if any, to secure the support of the few lawmakers who held up the vote. With just a narrow majority in the House, Republicans could only afford to lose three votes. The final tally was 219 to 213.
Johnson’s persistence allowed him and other Republican leaders to muster enough support to move the bill forward while navigating that slim majority and a slew of internal party divisions.
At the heart of the legislation is an extension of President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. It would also end taxes on tips and overtime, at least temporarily, which was one of the big campaign promises Trump made.
The bill also includes new spending on defense and immigration enforcement, and it lifts the nation’s debt limit by $5 trillion.
To pay for that, the bill cuts spending across a range of programs, most notably Medicaid, the joint federal and state program that provides health care for roughly 70 million low-income, elderly and disabled Americans.
Early estimates suggest around 11 million people could lose coverage under the GOP bill, and that’s one of the main reasons why negotiations around this bill were so contentious in both chambers.
Overall, the sprawling GOP bill — clocking in at nearly 1,000 pages — represents a dramatic realignment of the federal government’s role in American life, shifting resources from the social safety net and investments in clean energy, and reorienting them to finance trillions of dollars in new spending on tax cuts, immigration enforcement and national defense.
Up next, lawmakers will debate the bill on the floor. Once that’s done, they can proceed to a final vote.
That’s a process that could take several more hours, but assuming Republicans have the votes, they will have made good on their promises to have this bill to President Trump’s desk by Friday.
Even with its likely passage, the fight over this bill is far from over. Democrats have made clear they plan to make this legislation the centerpiece of their push to win back control of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump says he’s fighting crime. Illinois Gov. Pritzker sees a power grab before 2026
Steve Inskeep speaks with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker about President Trump's threats to send National Guard troops to Chicago and the future of the Democratic Party.
Who is Lachlan Murdoch, the anointed media tycoon?
His position in leading News Corp. and Fox is now secure, as his father ends a dramatic succession battle. Lachlan grew up in New York City but has lived in Australia for much of his adult life.
33 million voters have been run through a Trump administration citizenship check
Tens of millions of voters have had their information run through the tool — a striking portion of the U.S. public, considering little has been made public about the tool's accuracy or data security.
You’re more likely to reach for that soda when it’s hot outside
People drink more sugary beverages when it's hot, researchers found, significantly increasing their sugar intake. That impact could grow as climate change raises the world's temperatures.
Trump’s control of the D.C. police is due to expire tonight. Then what?
Trump needs an extension from Congress to control D.C. police for more than 30 days. Some Republican lawmakers are focused on pursuing legislation that would exert power over D.C. in other ways.
Poland says it shot down Russian drones that violated its airspace
Poland said Wednesday that it and its NATO allies had shot down Russian drones that violated Polish airspace in what it called an "act of aggression" as Russia launched aerial attacks on Ukraine.
