By Editor Melissa Koenig
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson is trying to reign in Republican rebels in an effort to pass President Donald Trump’s spending bill.
The House speaker and other GOP leaders are working to whip members to back a key procedural vote on the Big Beautiful Bill.
The goal is to get the bill to Trump’s desk by the July 4 holiday, but it still remains unclear whether House Republicans have enough support to get the bill passed.
It had squeaked through the Senate on Tuesday and some Republican House members now want to spend more time reviewing the Senate’s changes to the bill before they approve it.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus (HFC) have raised concerns that the Senate’s version of Trump’s flagship domestic policy agenda does not go far enough to the right’s desire to shrink government.
They have expressed doubts over the bill’s increased spending levels, provisions allowing government benefits for some illegal immigrants and funding for Biden-era renewable energy policies.
Rep. Andy Harris, chair of the HFC, told Politico he remained opposed to the legislation and said it was incumbent on Republican senators to come back to the negotiating table to finish the job.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has also firmly and consistently said he will vote against the bill.
If more than four Republicans vote against the measure, it will fail.