A massive spending bill championed by President Donald Trump hit a wall in the House on Wednesday, as Republican infighting forced Speaker Mike Johnson to slam the brakes on a critical vote.
The vote was supposed to open debate on what Trump has called a “big, beautiful bill.” But GOP leaders couldn’t get enough of their own members in line — or even into the building — to push it forward. With a handful of Republicans refusing to back the bill and several others stuck in travel delays, leadership was forced to delay the showdown.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) tried to put a good face on the chaos, blaming flight delays for the missing votes. “As you can see, there’s still a few members who couldn’t get flights in but are driving and finding other ways to D.C. and we need them here,” he told reporters. “They’re gonna be here shortly. So when they get here within the next hour we’ll come back, finish this vote, then go straight into the rule vote.”
But missing lawmakers were only part of the problem.
Inside the Capitol, hardline conservatives were openly working to tank the bill. Members of the House Freedom Caucus were seen in closed-door meetings during the voting session, weighing how to block the rule — the procedural step needed to begin debate. If enough of them voted no, it would kill the bill before it even hit the floor.
Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), along with Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Scott Perry (R-Pa.), Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.), and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.), were among those seen in and out of the meetings.
They say the Senate’s version of the bill blows a hole in the deficit and betrays promises made earlier this year to keep spending in check.
“Hopefully it goes back to Rules [Committee], gets moved closer to the House position, and the Senate gets called back into town,” Harris told reporters. “Senate never should have left town. The President asked us to stay until this issue was resolved, and the Senate left town.”
Harris had already predicted the vote would fail.
While the right is fuming about government spending, moderates are sounding alarms of their own. They’re worried about how cuts to Medicaid and clean energy tax breaks will hit their districts.
As of Wednesday evening, the vote to open debate was still on hold. Johnson and GOP leaders are scrambling to find the votes. But with defections on both ends of the party, the future of Trump’s signature bill is now hanging by a thread.
