House Republicans cleared the final procedural hurdle early Thursday morning for President Trump’s massive “One Big Beautiful” spending bill.
The final passage of the sweeping tax and spending legislation is widely expected before the July 4 deadline. After dozens of hours of intense negotiations, House Speaker Mike Johnson secured enough votes to advance Trump’s signature domestic bill.
The procedural vote passed 219-213 after being held open for over five hours as GOP leaders worked to flip conservative holdouts. Only one Republican, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, joined all Democrats in voting against the rule. All other Republicans ultimately supported advancing the bill to final passage.
“We’re going to meet our July 4 deadline, which everybody made fun of me for saying,” Johnson declared early Thursday morning. “This is going to end well.”
The bill now faces one final vote on passage, expected Thursday morning, before heading to Trump’s desk. With the final hurdle cleared, Republicans need to maintain support from all but three members to pass the bill to the president’s desk.
Trump himself applied significant pressure on holdouts. “What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!” Trump posted to his Truth Social network at midnight.
“FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!” he added.
Vice President JD Vance also personally lobbied reluctant Republicans behind closed doors to secure their support.
The legislation represents a victory for Trump’s agenda, combining historic tax cuts with border security funding and needed welfare spending reforms. The bill extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, eliminates taxes on tips and overtime, provides a tax deduction for purchasing American-made vehicles, and includes $46.5 billion for border wall construction.
“‘THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ has PASSED the House of Representatives! This is arguably the most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!” Trump celebrated on Truth Social after the House passed the original legislation in May. It was modified in the U.S. Senate, and the changes returned to the House for approval.
The current version includes roughly $4 trillion in tax cuts and creates new “Trump Savings Accounts” for newborn babies, with the federal government contributing $1,000 for children born between January 1, 2024 and December 31, 2028.
To offset costs, the legislation cuts approximately $1 trillion in waste from Medicaid over 10 years and reduces spending on food assistance programs by about $267 billion. The bill also expands work requirements for Medicaid and SNAP benefits.
Several key conservative Republicans flipped their positions to support the bill after initially expressing concerns. Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio told reporters he would now support the legislation after the Senate made changes to state and local tax deductions and Medicaid cuts.
“This bill isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we’ll get & includes major wins,” Davidson posted on X, citing new Medicaid work requirements and enhanced food stamp work requirements.
“I’ll vote for the bill, since we need to make it happen for our economy & there are some good provisions in it. However, I will vote against the rule due to broken commitments by @SpeakerJohnson to his own members,” Rep. Victoria Spartz of Indiana wrote.
The lone consistent Republican House opponent, fiscal hawk Thomas Massie of Kentucky, has remained defiant.
“I have raised $400,000 from 4,500 donors in the last 10 days for taking this principled stand. So my life hasn’t been difficult at all,” Massie told reporters. The Kentucky conservative said he was “not concerned” about the political retaliation from Trump.
The bill faced a tough journey through Congress, with the Senate passing it Tuesday night in a 51-50 vote after Vice President Vance cast the tie-breaking vote. Three Republicans opposed the Senate version: Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Susan Collins of Maine, and Rand Paul of Kentucky.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer took a procedural shot at Republicans by forcing a name change to the bill, successfully stripping the “One Big Beautiful Bill” title through a parliamentary procedure.
“This is not a ‘big, beautiful bill’ at all. That’s why I moved down the floor to strike the title. It is now called ‘the act.’ That’s what it’s called. But it is really the ‘big ugly betrayal,’ and the American people know it,” Schumer told reporters.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries rallied Democrats in opposition, declaring: “Every single House Democrat will vote hell no against this one, big, ugly bill. And all we need are four House Republicans to join us in defense of their constituents who will suffer mightily from this bill.”
The Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate version would add a stunning $3.3 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade, nearly $1 trillion more than the House-approved version.
Establishment Republicans dismissed both Democratic criticism and deficit estimates. A senior State Department official called such studies “based on incorrect assumptions.”
Weather delays caused some complications, with several lawmakers experiencing flight cancellations due to storms across the East Coast. However, key Republicans including Reps. Neal Dunn of Florida and Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania arrived at the Capitol just in time for the crucial votes.
Johnson praised his members for their persistence:
“When you’re doing a big, comprehensive piece of legislation, you’re going to expect a lot of extra time, a lot of questions and a lot of deliberation over it. There was just a lot of patience and listening to everyone’s concerns and making sure that their concerns were addressed.”
“We worked on this a long time, a lot of thoughtful work went into this, and even though the Senate modified some of our product, the extraordinary things in this bill are so important, most of our agenda is wrapped up in this legislation,” he said.
With the procedural hurdle cleared, Republicans are on the verge of delivering Trump’s most significant legislative achievement. The final passage vote is expected to occur Thursday morning, allowing Trump to sign the historic legislation before the July 4 holiday as promised.