More than 20 House Republicans are threatening to tank the reconciliation budget package that was narrowly approved by the Senate on Tuesday, just days before a self-imposed July 4 deadline to get the signature legislation of President Donald Trump's second term to his desk.
The Senate made several changes before passing its amended version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, needing a tiebreaking vote by Vice President JD Vance to keep it afloat. The House must pass the Senate version, and if it makes any changes, it has to go back to the Senate for a vote.
The changes left House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., frustrated, leaving him just days to flip GOP holdouts and clear procedural hurdles to get the legislation to Trump's desk.
"We knew the Senate would amend the House product," Johnson told reporters Tuesday, according to Axios. "I encouraged them to amend it as lightly as possible. They went a little further than many of us would have preferred."
Conservative House Republicans are upset the Senate version is projected to add more to the federal deficit. The bill would make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent and allocate funding for border security, defense, and domestic energy production. The Senate version also raises the debt ceiling to $5 trillion; the House version raised it to $4 trillion.
"Our bill has been completely changed. ... It's a non-starter," Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told reporters Tuesday, according to Axios.
Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., wrote in a post on X that he will introduce an amendment to the Senate bill that would delete all its text and replace it with the version passed by the House in May.
A House Republican speaking on the condition of anonymity told Axios there are "well over 20" GOP lawmakers threatening to vote against the bill.
Johnson can only afford to lose three votes to advance the legislation, provided everyone is in attendance and Democrats maintain their across-the-board opposition. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., chair of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Norman, a member of the group, said they will vote against a procedural rule that sets parameters for debate because of their opposition to several parts of the package, The Hill reported. Harris said others are considering joining their effort against the rule.
"That's exactly why a group of us are not going to vote to advance the bill until we iron out some of the deficit problems with the bills," Harris said, according to The Hill, when asked about Elon Musk's criticism of the bill. "Look, Mr. Musk is right, we cannot sustain these deficits, he understands finances, he understands debts and deficits, and we have to make further progress. And I believe the Freedom Caucus will take the lead in making that further progress.
"I don't think the votes are there, just like they weren't for the Senate initially until some concessions were made. I believe that the rule vote will not pass [Wednesday] morning, and then the speaker is going to have to decide how he gets this back into the House framework."
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Newsmax on Tuesday that he expects the bill to clear any procedural hurdles, pass the House, and be sent to Trump's desk to sign into law.
"We're going to bring the rule first to the floor tomorrow morning, and then we're going to finish up debate and then pass the bill to President Trump's desk tomorrow," Scalise said. "It's going to be a busy day tomorrow. It's been a busy last few months, but this bill is so important for families all across the country who are looking for the relief and the benefits that come from this one, big, beautiful bill."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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