Hardline conservatives in the House are going after the Republican megabill with a vengeance.
The House Freedom Caucus released a blistering 3-page memo Wednesday, torching the Senate-passed version of the bill and accusing GOP leaders of breaking key promises.
The memo, which circulated as Republican leaders scrambled for votes, slams more than a dozen last-minute changes made after the House passed the original bill in May. Some changes were needed to get around a Democratic filibuster. Others, critics say, were self-inflicted.
One of the biggest issues? The updated bill blows a massive hole in the deficit.
“The bill violates the House framework of $1 of tax cuts for $1 of spending cuts… increases the deficit by $761 billion without interest and more than $1.3 trillion with interest,” the memo says. “This was not what Leader [John] Thune and Speaker [Mike] Johnson promised.”
As the fight intensified, the House floor was frozen in place. Leaders left a key vote open for hours, hoping to calm angry conservatives and save the bill.
Speaker Mike Johnson briefly left the Capitol at 5:03 p.m., telling reporters he was just picking up his wife and would “come right back.” Minutes later, he returned.
Behind closed doors, GOP leaders scrambled. Fiscal hawks are furious at the Senate’s changes. At the same time, Republicans in moderate districts are nervous about cuts to Medicaid.
Still, Speaker Johnson sounded upbeat. “We’re going to get there tonight,” he told reporters. “We’re working on it and are very, very positive about our progress.”
But the Freedom Caucus isn’t backing down. Their message is clear: This isn’t the deal they signed up for — and they’re ready to fight.
