Trump's spending bill poised to pass the House in a show of president's power
President Donald Trump worked the phones late into the night to help House Republican leadership deliver his second term policy agenda.
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The U.S. House of Representatives early Thursday morning began a final debate on President Donald Trump's megabill ahead of casting votes on it, after Republican holdouts relented overnight and backed the spending package, allowing it to move ahead.
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson spent all night corralling House rebels to pass the legislation, aided by Trump himself, who worked the phones for much of the night.
The motion to begin a final debate, which passed around 3:30 a.m. ET, marked a major win for Republican leaders after hours of maneuvering and backroom deals to break a stubborn impasse.
The measure to move forward with debate finally passed 219-213. Only moderate Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania voted with Democrats against the motion.
At various points overnight, Trump's frustration with the stalemate was palpable.
"FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!" he wrote after 1 a.m. ET.
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The bill has traveled a rocky road to date, with the the package just squeaking by in the upper chamber on Tuesday, when U.S. Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote.
A final debate is underway and one last vote is expected later Thursday morning. If cleared, the bill will be transferred to Trump's desk to be signed into law.
The president has been pushing for the legislation to reach his desk by July 4.
The Trump-styled "big, beautiful" bill extends sweeping tax cuts instituted during his first presidency, but also slashes the social safety net and reshapes how the renewable energy industry accesses tax credits.
Democrats are aligned in opposition to the legislation, and railed against the cuts, which disproportionately benefit the wealthy.
"The top 1% are salivating over getting an extra $300,000 per year because of this dangerous bill," Rep. Gabe Amo, D-R.I., said on the floor during the early part of the debate. "Billionaires win. 17 million Americans will lose their health insurance."
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., meanwhile took to the floor for hours during the final debate, reading out the stories of people countrywide who depend on the health insurance program Medicaid.
Deeper cuts to Medicaid were part of the Senate's substantial revisions to its version of the megabill, along with a $5 trillion debt limit hike, which exceeds the $4 trillion increase that the House passed in a previous version.
The independent Congressional Budget Office warns that the bill could add $3.4 trillion to the $36.2 billion of the world's largest economy's existing debt over the next decade. The White House has contested the CBO's estimates and labeled the agency as "partisan."
The megabill push has been taking place at a time of broader economic volatility, as Trump presses ahead with a protectionist trade policy that could see the return of so-called "reciprocal" tariffs on most major U.S. trade partners, come July 9.
This is developing news. Please check back for updates.
