President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson suffered an embarrassing setback in the House Budget Committee on Friday as conservative holdouts blocked the massive bill containing trillions of dollars in tax cuts and other parts of the Republican legislative agenda.
The budget panel voted 21-16 against the megabill, with five Republicans joining Democrats in opposing the package. Far-right conservatives had expressed their anger about the bill, complaining that it failed to cut enough spending and that key parts of the law, including new work requirements in Medicaid and a phaseout of some clean energy tax credits, would not start until 2029. Republican Rep. Chip Roy of the House Freedom Caucus posted a chart to social media on Friday showing that the package front-loads its tax cuts and spending but delays its biggest savings.
House leaders reportedly were negotiating changes to the package, seeking to strike a difficult balance between conservative demands for bigger spending cuts and moderates’ concerns that the bill’s cuts and any additional changes could be politically ruinous. The Budget Committee went ahead with the vote even as it appeared likely to fail — a decision that reportedly left many House Republicans bewildered and fuming.
“We were making progress, but the vote was called, and the problems were not resolved, so I voted no,” Roy wrote on X. “I am staying in Washington this weekend to deliver. Medicaid Work requirements must start NOW not 2029 & the Green New Scam must be fully repealed, as President Trump called for.”
Roy was joined by Reps. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Andrew Clyde of Georgia and Ralph Norman of South Carolina in voting against the bill. Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania changed his vote from yes to no in a procedural move meant to allow the committee to reconsider the legislation.
Trump had urged Republicans to come together behind the bill. “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’ Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need,” he wrote in a social media post, adding, “We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”
Republicans will continue negotiating over the weekend and try again to “get it done” on Sunday, when the budget panel will meet at 10 p.m. to revote.
“While there are still a few issues being resolved from members on and off Committee, moving forward with our Budget markup provided the clarification and catalyst we needed to keep us on track for final passage,” Rep. Jodey Arrington, the Republican chairman of the committee, said in a statement. “Passing a big and beautiful bill takes time and hard work. I am confident we will get to a good place this weekend and have the votes to pass it out of Committee Sunday evening.”
House Republican leaders have been aiming to pass the bill next week before lawmakers depart for their Memorial Day recess.
The bottom line: The GOP package, officially named the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” is delayed, not dead. While Republicans may still recover quickly from Friday’s stumble, this is unlikely to be the last big challenge the legislation faces.