President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending bill was on the verge of suffering a significant blow late Wednesday night, as House Republican leaders appeared unable to secure enough votes within their own party after more than an hour to advance the massive package to a final vote on the floor.
After an hour of open voting, four Republican noes had been cast, enough to tank the bill unless one of them flipped to a yes. The members voting no spanned the ideological spectrum, from hardline conservatives to a moderate from Pennsylvania.
A vote to approve the rules of tonight’s debate got underway shortly before 10 p.m. ET. Unless the rules are approved, the chamber cannot begin a debate and hole a final vote.
The trouble was not a total surprise. Numerous rank-and-file members have dug in on their opposition to the tax-and-spending package throughout the day, casting doubts about just how much pressure Speaker Mike Johnson can exert on them to back the bill.
Both moderates and conservative hardliners demanded changes to a Senate version of the bill.
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the press, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon | Reuters
It was unclear late Wednesday whether the White House was actively lobbying the four noes. A key step in helping skeptical Republicans get to yes all day has been direct intervention by Trump himself.
The White House hosted several groups of House Republicans for talks earlier in the day Wednesday, including hardliners who oppose the final bill.
Trump also deployed a team to Capitol Hill that included Russ Vought, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, to meet with holdouts.
While conservative holdouts to Trump’s bill have drawn the most attention, there is also a group of moderate Republicans who have big problems with the Senate’s cuts to Medicaid.
Those cuts were even deeper than the ones originally passed by the House.
Many of these Republicans represent districts typically carried by Democrats in presidential elections. This gives the White House fewer leverage points over them than Trump might have for a member whose constituents voted Republican.
The Senate squeaked out passage of its version of Trump’s megabill on Tuesday, with Vice President JD Vance required to come in and cast the tie-breaking vote. Now lawmakers in the lower chamber must approve the Senate’s revisions.
In May, Johnson was at least able to offer last-minute concessions to the skeptical members in his conference to get them on board.
Now, any last minute changes automatically would send the bill back to the Senate for another vote, which would make the self-imposed July 4 deadline nearly impossible to reach.
— CNBC’s Greta Reich contributed reporting
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.