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President Donald Trump took to Truth Social early Thursday to call out Republicans who are still refusing to get behind a House procedural vote on the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
With the vote having stalled late Wednesday – with five Republican “nays” and another eight Republicans having yet to cast a vote – the president touted the benefits the country is poised to gain with the bill’s passage.
“Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy,” Trump wrote on Truth Social before turning his ire to GOP holdouts: “What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”
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Trump later wrote that the vote should be an “EASY YES” for Republicans, calling the holdouts’ refusal to vote, “RIDICULOUS.”
A procedural “rule vote” allows lawmakers to debate ahead of a final vote on the “Big Beautiful Bill” before it would head to the president’s desk for a signature.
By early Thursday, the following House Republicans were a no on the procedural vote: Reps. Andrew Clyde of Georgia, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Keith Self of Texas, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, and Thomas Massie of Kentucky – who changed his vote from a “yay” to a “nay.”
When asked why he switched his vote, Massie told Fox News Digital, “Because most of the world isn’t concerned about the difference between the rule resolution vote and the final passage vote.”
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The following Republican lawmakers have yet to cast their vote: Reps. Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eric Burlison of Missouri, Michael Cloud of Texas, Andy Harris of Maryland, Bob Onder of Missouri, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, and Chip Roy of Texas.
Leaving a room with other holdouts and critics of the bill just after 1 a.m. on Thursday, Burchett told reporters, “We’re just getting very close, I think, to getting something resolved.”
He would not say how he would vote for the legislation, however.
GOP lawmakers can only afford to lose three votes. Republican leaders have now kept the rule vote open for over four hours to try to pressure the holdouts to get a majority vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson had recalled lawmakers to Washington, eager to seize on the momentum of the bill’s passage the day before in the Senate and vowed to press ahead.
“Everybody wants to get to yes,” Johnson told Fox News as the voting was underway.
Quickly convening for the vote on the more than 800-page bill was risky gambit, one designed to meet Trump’s demand for a holiday finish. Republicans have struggled mightily with the bill nearly every step of the way this year, often succeeding by the narrowest of margins, only one vote.
Their slim 220-212 majority, leaving little room for defections.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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