This article has been updated:
On Sunday, the House Budget Committee advanced Republicans' reconciliation bill, 17-6, that aims to provide tax relief, enhance border security, and implement key spending cuts and fiscal reforms.
The bill moved forward after four Republican lawmakers — Reps. Ralph Norman (S.C.), Chip Roy (Texas), Andrew Clyde (Ga.), and Josh Brecheen (Okla.) — who had previously opposed it on Friday- voted "present," allowing the measure to proceed.
Roy said he voted "present" alongside his three colleagues who had previously opposed the bill, explaining that the decision was made out of respect for the Republican Conference and the President, to allow the bill to move forward.
Meanwhile, Norman said, “In an effort to move this bill forward, and I’m excited about the changes we’ve made, I vote present,” to which a Democrat on the other side of the room exclaimed: “What changes?”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stated that there is still work to be done and details to finalize. Still, he's confident that with productive discussions in the coming days, the bill will be completed and passed by the original Memorial Day deadline.
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House Republicans were called back to Capitol Hill late Sunday as the clock ticks down on their self-imposed deadline to pass President Donald Trump’s much-anticipated "Big, Beautiful Bill." The legislation, aimed at restoring fiscal sanity and tightening federal programs, hit a snag with some conservative holdouts concerned about the delay in enforcing work requirements for able-bodied Medicaid recipients. While the GOP has emphasized that the bill targets only waste, fraud, and abuse, fiscal hawks argue the 2029 implementation date gives too much time for future administrations to reverse course.
The House Budget Committee is scheduled to reconvene at 10 p.m. ET on Sunday to continue reviewing the “One Big Beautiful Bill” following recent adjustments.
Four spending hardliners blocked the measure from being made out of the House Budget Committee on Friday, including Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), and Andrew Clyde (R-GA).
Some lawmakers pressed for a tougher rollback of green energy tax breaks established under former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, aiming to dismantle what they see as wasteful climate spending. However, their efforts have sparked friction within the GOP, as other Republicans represent districts where local industries have profited from those very incentives.
House Speaker Mike Johnson explained that the primary concern raised was about the timing of Medicaid work requirements, with some wanting them to be implemented sooner. He acknowledged that they share this desire to implement the requirements earlier.
"The concern is … the ability of the states to retool their systems and ensure the verification processes, to make sure that all the new laws and all the new safeguards that we’re placing can actually be enforced,” Johnson said on Sunday. “We’re working through all those details, and we’ll get it done.”
Trump's "Big, Beautiful Bill" includes major provisions, such as the largest tax cut in American history, as well as the elimination of taxes on tips and overtime pay. It also proposes modernizing air traffic control and ending taxpayer-funded sex-change procedures for minors. Additionally, the bill mandates an 80-hour-per-month work requirement for able-bodied adults aged 19-64, starting in 2029, with volunteer work and education counting toward meeting the requirement.
Once the measure clears the Budget Committee, it will then have to pass through the Rules Committee before coming up for a vote on the House floor. Johnson stated that he aims to secure a vote by the end of the week to meet his original goal of passing it by Memorial Day.
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