A handful of hardline House conservatives are threatening to tank a Wednesday procedural vote for the party’s “big, beautiful bill,” a revolt that would bring the lower chamber to a screeching halt and potentially derail GOP leadership’s plan of clearing the legislation by July 4.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), a member of the group, both announced on Tuesday that they will vote against a procedural rule — which sets parameters for debate — for the megabill because of their opposition to several parts of the sprawling package.
Republicans can only afford to lose three votes and still clear the procedural hurdle, assuming full attendance and all Democrats voting “no.” Harris said other members are considering joining their effort against the rule.
“That’s exactly why a group of us are not gonna vote to advance the bill until we iron out some of the deficit problems with the bills,” Harris said on Fox News when asked about Elon Musk’s criticism of the bill. “Look, Mr. Musk is right, we cannot sustain these deficits, he understands finances, he understands debts and deficits, and we have to make further progress. And I believe the Freedom Caucus will take the lead in making that further progress.”
“I don’t think the votes are there, just like they weren’t for the Senate initially until some concessions were made,” he added. “I believe that the rule vote will not pass tomorrow morning, and then the Speaker’s gonna have to decide how he gets this back into the House framework.”
On Monday, Rep. Keith Self (R-Texas), also a member of the Freedom Caucus, floated voting against the rule on the floor, telling reporters “remember, we got to get through the rule vote, too,” when asked if he would support the legislation on the floor.
A floor revolt could seriously thwart leadership’s hope of sending President Trump the “big, beautiful bill” by July 4, which is Friday. Top House Republicans are aiming to begin considering the measure on the floor at 9 a.m. Wednesday, with debate on the rule and then a vote on the rule, followed by final debate and a final passage vote.
But if hardliners tank the rule, that timeline would go awry — a prospect that those on the right-flank are fine with.
“I do believe by next Wednesday we can come to an agreement. The bottom line is we can’t do it the next few days, but I do believe by next week we can come to an agreement,” Harris said Tuesday.
The warning for a potential revolt rises to the surface hours after the Senate, following hours of through-the-night debates and votes, cleared the “big, beautiful bill,” a fate that was sealed only after Vice President Vance cast a tie-breaking vote.
The measure made several changes to the House’s version of the legislation, including alterations to language involving Medicaid changes, the rollback of green-energy tax provisions and tax cuts.
Procedural rules have historically been drama-free, predictable occurrences when the majority party votes “yes” and the minority party votes “no.” In recent years, however, conservatives have used the process to protest legislation and moves made by leadership.
The rule is likely to make its way through the House Rules Committee despite two hardline conservatives — Norman and Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) — sitting on the panel since it takes three GOP defections to block a rule from moving to the floor, assuming full attendance and united Democratic opposition.
With the bill now back in the House’s hands, a number of hardline conservatives and moderate Republicans are bashing its contents. Those on the right-flank are decrying the amount the measure will add to the deficit, and centrists are raising concerns about the legislation’s beefed up Medicaid cuts.
Conservatives, in particular, want the House to change the bill to make it more aligned with the legislation they cleared in the House in May, a prospect that appears unlikely as GOP leaders shoot down the idea of amending the legislation — which would require the package to head back to the Senate for a final stamp of approval.
“I’m not happy with what the Senate did to our product, but we understand this is the process, it goes back and forth, and we’ll be working to get all of our members to yes,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters on Tuesday. “So high stakes, aggressive schedule, and we knew it would come to this moment.”
Asked if the July 4 deadline is realistic, Johnson responded: “We’ll see what happens in the next 24 hours.”
For now, conservatives are planning to showcase the resistance — loudly.
“Not good,” Norman said of the bill Tuesday afternoon. “What’s happened is our bill has been completely changed. I mean, from the IRA credits to the deficit, which expands three-quarters of a trillion dollars, it’s a non-starter.”
“The last-minute changes in the Senate, like literally, the very last amendment, probably added like a $100 billion to that deficit by adding in some of the green new scam subsidies. The bottom line is this is not ready for prime time,” Harris echoed. “We support the president’s agenda, the president’s agenda was not to raise the deficit by three-quarters of a trillion dollars over the next 10 years. The bottom line is now the House is gonna have its say. This is not gonna sail through the House, we’re gonna have to negotiate with the Senate one more time, and that’s just appropriate. That’s the way the legislative process works and the way it should work on a bill of this size.”
In the meantime, President Trump is strongly urging House Republicans to get in line, hoping to sign the marquee measure full of his wish list items into law in short order.
“We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional “GRANDSTANDERS” (You know who you are!), and does the right thing, which is sending this Bill to my desk. We are on schedule — Let’s keep it going, and be done before you and your family go on a July 4thvacation. The American People need and deserve it. They sent us here to, GET IT DONE!” he wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday.