With just hours until they want to start voting, House Republican leaders and White House officials have launched an all-hands-on-deck push Wednesday to get the GOP megabill through the House and to President Donald Trump’s desk.
Several groups of House Republican lawmakers who have aired grievances with the Senate-passed version of the domestic policy poll are meeting Wednesday morning, and Speaker Mike Johnson is making his way through those groups — including speaking with a particularly crucial group of conservative hard-liners.
Multiple groups of holdouts are expected to visit the White House later Wednesday to meet with Trump, who has demanded the bill get done by July 4.
Skeptical members across the GOP’s ideological spectrum said Wednesday they were still reviewing the 887-page bill passed by the Senate.
“I’m still looking at it,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a suburban member who has raised concerns about Medicaid cuts, while Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), a former chair of the hard-right Freedom Caucus with deep fiscal misgivings, said, “I’m still thinking about it.”
Republican leaders are intent on keeping the bill moving as quickly as possible, cognizant that any significant delays could only embolden the intraparty holdouts. Asked about voting plans Wednesday morning, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he expected final passage “sometime today.”
That could change if the holdouts band together and decide to withstand the lobbying blitz. Republicans are closely eyeing early procedural votes that would set up the megabill for final floor consideration. House leaders want to take those votes as early as 11 a.m. Wednesday, but that could slip if GOP whips conclude there’s not enough support to keep the bill moving forward. With full attendance, four GOP defections could sink the bill.
“If there’s four [GOP ‘nos’], there’s going to be 20 — and it’s going to be a jailbreak,” said one House Republican granted anonymity to candidly describe internal dynamics.
Asked if he had the votes to advance the bill Wednesday, Johnson said, “We’re working on all that right now.”
A White House pressure campaign started ramping up Monday night, when Trump, Vice President JD Vance and senior administration officials began a new round of public praise for the sweeping legislation — which includes a $5 trillion debt limit hike and deficit spending that has made many congressional Republicans anxious.
The White House officials have sought to tamp down the deficit concerns by encouraging members to ignore the costs of extending the 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of this year. Trump on Wednesday touted the bill’s “GROWTH, which will be the primary reason that the Big, Beautiful Bill will be one of the most successful pieces of legislation ever passed.”
“Our Country will make a fortune this year, more than any of our competitors, but only if the Big, Beautiful Bill is PASSED!” he wrote on Truth Social. “Republicans, don’t let the Radical Left Democrats push you around.”
Leaders are also still dealing with objections from dozens of members concerned about the Medicaid provisions in the bill. The Senate deepened the cuts to the joint federal-state program in some respects, including by curtailing medical provider taxes — a key state financing mechanism.
Johnson, for his part, needs to find a way to assuage grumpy members without agreeing to changes to the Senate-passed bill — which would require potentially weeks of additional negotiations and sending the bill back across the Capitol for more action. He has already floated the potential of doing at least one and possibly two other party-line policy bills before the end of the Congress next year.
“We’re working through everybody’s concerns and letting them know this is the best possible product we can produce,” Johnson said Wednesday.
Stormy weather rolling through the mid-Atlantic has been another major complication. Many members saw their flights back to Washington canceled or delayed Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Johnson said he was “worried about flights” and acknowledged timelines could slip.
Democrats, who are threatening to force procedural votes to delay the megabill’s consideration, said they expected to have their members here soon enough. Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) was spotted at the Capitol Wednesday after missing weeks of votes due to a medical issue.
“Mother Nature’s not cooperating, but people are going to be here,” said Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the minority whip.