It's late on Wednesday night and the House still has yet to close the vote on the rule to consider President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). Given that more Republicans still need to flip their vote, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) shared he "might keep it open for a while," even indicating it'll be open for "as long as it takes." So far, four Republicans have joined all Democrats in voting against the bill and there are still those who have not vote and are "off site right now" but expected to come back to vote.
On Fox, Johnson says “I might keep it open for a while.” Adds some of the mbrs who have not voted are “off site right now” and will come back to the Capitol
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 3, 2025
Those "no" votes include Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Keith Self (R-TX), and Victoria Spartz (R-IN).
Members who still need to vote include Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Scott Perry (R-PA), Bob Onder (R-MO), Andy Harris (R-MD), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Tim Burchett (R-TN), Eric Burlison (R-MO), and Michael Cloud (R-TX). Many of these members are part of the House Freedom Caucus, with Harris serving as its chair.
So, what is Johnson doing in the meantime? House Republican leadership as well as Trump have been heavily involved in trying to flip votes in order to get the OBBB across the finish line. There's that July 4 deadline to keep to, after all. After the Senate passed the OBBB on Tuesday thanks to a tiebreaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, Johnson gave remarks indicating that they still planned to keep to that deadline.
The president has reportedly been making calls.
CNN's Scott Jennings shared such updates live that he's heard from the White House, including how Trump has been on the phone since 7:00 on Wednesday morning and that the White House political team is at Capitol Hill to meet with members who still need to vote or flip.
Jennings also brought up another reminder in that "it was reported today that the president has a $1.4 billion war chest," which host Abby Phillip noted "sounds like a threat." This is especially with the 2026 midterms coming up and Trump already going after those opposed to his OBBB, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), the latter who has since announced that he's retiring. "And he plans to be fully engaged in the midterms, and I think he plans to be fully engaged for people who support his agenda," Jennings continued.
Recommended
As Jennings shared without naming names, members have been messaging him that they think they'll get the votes, though it may take some time.
Am told the President has been jamming through phones all day long - working it https://t.co/IEBq0uc4Jd
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) July 3, 2025
On Fox, Johnson says Trump has talked to mbrs tonight and asked Johnson who he needs to speak to
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 3, 2025
Earlier on Wednesday night, Trump also put out a post over Truth Social stressing Republican unity. Such a post also spoke to the conversations he's been having.
"We had GREAT conversations all day, and the Republican House Majority is UNITED, for the Good of our Country, delivering the Biggest Tax Cuts in History and MASSIVE Growth," his post read in part.
There already had been some hopeful news with members who voted in favor of the bill, though, including Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), who announced earlier on Wednesday that he would vote to begin debate. He, along with Massie, voted against the megabill in the House when it passed the chamber in May before heading to the Senate. Another significant "yes" vote was Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).
As long as such a vote may seem to be kept open, the House reached a record earlier on Wednesday night for the longest open vote, breaking the previous record that had been set in 2021.
In other news, House set new record for longest vote in history. 7 hours, 31 minutes. Beat old record set in 2021 of 7 hours and 21 minutes
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 3, 2025
House Republicans may be close, but they're still not there yet. Stay tuned with Townhall for more coverage on passage of this OBBB.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member