House Republicans advanced a sprawling budget reconciliation package late Sunday night following a last-minute agreement with hardline conservatives who had previously blocked the bill for not going far enough in cutting key federal programs. The House Budget Committee approved the legislation in a 17-16 vote after four GOP lawmakers switched their opposition votes to “present,” allowing the bill to move forward without directly endorsing it.
The bill proposes sweeping changes to the federal government’s fiscal priorities. It would permanently extend the income tax cuts enacted under former President Donald Trump in 2017, introduce new tax breaks—including the elimination of taxes on tips, overtime pay, and auto loan interest—and impose some of the largest-ever cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The legislation also includes increased funding for border security and defense.
Despite its size and impact, the bill passed out of committee amid significant confusion about what changes were actually made. Speaker Mike Johnson, who met with House Republicans before the vote, told reporters that “just some minor modifications” were agreed to, adding, “Not a huge thing.” When pressed for specifics during the hearing, Budget Committee Chair Rep. Jodey Arrington acknowledged, “Deliberations continue at this very moment. They will continue on into the week, and I suspect right up until the time we put this big, beautiful bill on the floor of the House.”
The “One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act,” as Republicans have labeled it, was only able to advance after intense weekend negotiations with GOP deficit hawks, including Reps. Chip Roy of Texas, Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, and Andrew Clyde of Georgia. These lawmakers had joined Democrats in voting down the measure just days earlier, citing concerns about its debt impact and the delayed implementation of Medicaid work requirements.
Rep. Roy, who previously opposed the bill, explained his shift in a post on X: “After a great deal of work and engagement over the weekend,” the bill “now will move Medicaid work requirements forward and reduces the availability of future subsidies under the green new scam.” The phrase refers to tax credits for clean energy created under the Inflation Reduction Act.
Democrats on the committee criticized the secretive negotiations, warning that the updated bill includes deeper and faster cuts to core social safety net programs. “Do not be fooled,” said Rep. Stacey Plaskett of the U.S. Virgin Islands. “The ‘no’ votes from certain Republicans on Friday were because the cuts were not fast or deep enough. In the back room, Republicans agreed to deeper and especially faster cuts to programs.”
The reconciliation bill’s proposed Medicaid provisions would impose strict new work requirements and increase costs for low-income recipients. Under the version initially presented, those work requirements would not take effect until 2029—a delay that hardline Republicans pushed to shorten or eliminate entirely. Speaker Johnson defended the timeline by stating it was meant to give states time to “retool their systems” and to “make sure that all the new laws and all the new safeguards that we’re placing can actually be enforced.”
Policy experts have long warned that Medicaid work requirements are ineffective and harmful. They would likely lead to millions losing coverage, particularly in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. Roy and other Republican lawmakers are reportedly advocating changes that would force states to end those expansions altogether.
“Kicking 13.7 million people off their healthcare apparently wasn’t enough for House Republicans,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle of Pennsylvania, the committee’s top Democrat. “The only reason this vote passed tonight is because they’ve plotted behind closed doors to hurt even more families while refusing to share this backroom deal with the American people. This fight isn’t over, and we’re going to make sure every American knows exactly how they’ve been betrayed by Donald Trump and the Republican Party.”
In its current form, the bill would implement the most severe reductions to Medicaid and SNAP benefits in U.S. history. Along with stricter eligibility requirements, the legislation proposes changes that would force many Medicaid beneficiaries to pay more for coverage, resulting in a potential loss of insurance for millions of Americans. SNAP recipients would also face stricter work requirements and benefit restrictions.
While slashing benefits for low-income Americans, the bill would permanently extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and add several new temporary breaks, such as eliminating taxes on tips, overtime wages, and interest on auto loans. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group, estimates the bill would add roughly $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Republican critics of the bill noted that the tax cuts are heavily front-loaded, while spending cuts are delayed—an approach that undermines deficit reduction goals.
“We are writing checks we cannot cash, and our children are going to pay the price,” said Rep. Roy during earlier deliberations. “Something needs to change, or you’re not going to get my support.”
Speaker Johnson faces pressure not only from fiscal conservatives but also from centrist Republicans, particularly those from high-tax states such as New York, who are pushing for changes to the bill’s provisions on the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. The current version proposes increasing the SALT cap from $10,000 to $30,000 for joint filers earning up to $400,000. Rep. Nick LaLota of New York has called for even higher limits, proposing $62,000 for single filers and $124,000 for joint filers.
Meanwhile, the bill’s future in the Senate remains uncertain. Even before the House finalized its work, several Senate Republicans expressed skepticism. Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin called the bill a “sad joke,” and others are already seeking modifications that could jeopardize its passage in the House. Johnson has warned the Senate against making too many changes: “The package that we send over there will be one that was very carefully negotiated and delicately balanced, and we hope that they don’t make many modifications to it because that will ensure its passage quickly.”
Democratic lawmakers condemned the bill as a betrayal of working families and a reckless redistribution of public funds from the poor to the wealthy. “This spending bill is terrible, and I think the American people know that,” said Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina. “There is nothing wrong with us bringing the government in balance. But there is a problem when that balance comes on the back of working men and women. And that’s what is happening here.”
The legislation now moves to the House floor, where it faces additional scrutiny from moderate Republicans and national watchdog groups. Further revisions are expected before a final vote later this week.
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