Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' clears key House committee vote

The spending and tax bill backed by President Donald Trump that has been branded as his "one big, beautiful bill," took a critical step forward late Sunday night after clearing a major procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives. The bill passed through the House Budget Committee in a narrow 17-16 vote, breathing new life into Republican efforts to advance the legislation to a full House vote later this week.

The late-night vote followed a Friday vote where some more conservative members of the committee in the House Freedom Caucus withheld their support, demanding stricter assurances on provisions related to Medicaid work requirements and a rollback of green energy subsidies from the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).

According to Fox News, in an urgent effort to salvage the measure, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) summoned Budget Committee members back to Washington for a rare 10 pm meeting. Johnson emerging with confidence following a meeting behind closed doors with the four GOP holdouts and told reporters, “I think what is about to happen here is that every Republican member will give a vote that allows us to proceed forward, and we count that as a big win tonight.”

Indeed, the four conservatives ultimately voted “present” rather than “no,” allowing the bill to clear the committee and move forward. That decision came after they secured written assurances from House GOP leaders that their concerns would be addressed in the final version.

"[This] lays the foundation for much-needed tax relief, border security, and important spending reductions and reforms," Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) said in a statement. He noted that the legislation would now include Medicaid work requirements and reductions in future subsidies under what he called the “green new scam.” Fellow holdout Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) confirmed that Republican leaders committed to these provisions in writing.

While passing the Budget Committee is mostly procedural, it is a key step in the budget reconciliation process—a powerful legislative tool Republicans are using to counter Democratic opposition. Reconciliation allows certain budget-related bills to pass the Senate with a simple majority, bypassing the usual 60-vote filibuster threshold.

The massive bill now heading toward a House-wide vote encompasses Trump’s major campaign promises, including tax cuts, immigration reform, defense spending increases, and raising the debt limit. Some conservative House members are still pressing for more aggressive action to repeal green energy tax credits and are wary of the long timeline for implementing Medicaid work requirements, currently slated to take effect in 2029. They fear that such delays leave the reforms vulnerable to future rollbacks.

On the other side, Republican moderates are pushing back against deep Medicaid cuts and demanding changes to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. Lawmakers from high-cost states argue the cap punishes their constituents and undermines their electoral viability—particularly in swing districts critical to maintaining the GOP House majority. These intra-party disputes are expected to continue as the bill moves to the House Rules Committee, the final stop before reaching the full House floor. Both Roy and Norman also sit on the Rules Committee, positioning them to influence the final amendments.

Even if the legislation clears the House, it’s not the end of the road. Republican senators have already signaled that changes are likely in the upper chamber. “We hope that they don’t make many modifications to it,” Johnson said Sunday, noting ongoing coordination between House and Senate GOP leadership.

Changes by the Senate would require the bill to return to the House for another vote as identical versions must pass both chambers before the legislation can be signed into law by Trump. Despite the challenges ahead, Republican leaders remain optimistic. Their goal is to place the bill on the president’s desk by the Fourth of July.