Congress is refusing to work with President Trump. In fact, they’re shredding his agenda.
As the U.S. House has just stabbed Trump in the back and nuked his plans entirely.
House GOP Faces Internal Clash Over Trump’s Tax and Immigration Bill
Conservative House Republicans are casting uncertainty over the fate of President Donald Trump’s signature tax and immigration bill, which passed the Senate on Tuesday morning. The legislation, a cornerstone of Trump’s second-term agenda, now faces resistance from some GOP lawmakers in the House, threatening to derail Speaker Mike Johnson’s push to meet the president’s July 4 deadline.
Several conservative House members have declared the Senate-amended bill unacceptable, arguing it deviates from a budget framework agreed upon by House GOP leadership and fiscal hawks. The Senate’s version, they claim, fails to sufficiently accelerate the termination of green energy tax credits and raises concerns about deficit spending. This opposition sets the stage for a potential showdown as Johnson aims to fast-track the legislation.
“The problem is the swamp is gonna swamp,” Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy told the Blaze’s Glenn Beck on Tuesday, referring to the Senate’s bill. “Right now, we have a bill in my estimation that violates the House framework.”
“But more importantly, [the bill] would add significantly to the deficits,” Roy added. “I look at the math and I look at how you factor in economic growth which I’m doing, factor in revenues and expenditures and what we’re doing on mandatory saving which is not enough.”
Despite the objections, House GOP leadership is moving swiftly to advance the bill. The House Rules Committee is actively working to prepare the Senate-amended legislation for a floor vote. While the bill is expected to clear the rules panel, its passage on the House floor remains uncertain due to the narrow Republican majority.
With a slim 220-212 majority, Speaker Johnson can afford to lose only three GOP votes. The tight margin amplifies the influence of conservative dissenters, who could disrupt the bill’s path forward if their concerns are not addressed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended the Senate’s changes, arguing that his conference enhanced the original House bill by incorporating conservative priorities, such as Medicaid reforms and an accelerated phase-down of certain green energy subsidies. “I appreciate the narrow margins they have over there and the challenges the speaker and his team have in front of them, but I think we gave them a really strong product,” Thune said following the Senate vote on Thursday. “I think we took what they sent us and strengthened, improved upon it.”
House GOP leadership, however, has expressed frustration with the Senate’s alterations. Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that he was “not happy with what the Senate did to our [initial] product.” Despite this, leadership is pressing forward with plans to pass the bill without further changes before the July 4 deadline.
President Trump has urged House Republicans to rally behind the legislation, emphasizing unity in a Truth Social post following the Senate’s vote. “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,” Trump wrote. “We are on schedule — Let’s keep it going, and be done before you and your family go on a July 4th vacation.”
“To my GOP friends in the House: Stay UNITED, have fun, and Vote ‘YAY.’ GOD BLESS YOU ALL!” Trump added. A senior White House official echoed the president’s stance, stating that the Senate’s version requires no further amendments and should pass the House promptly. The official also expressed opposition to sending the bill to a conference committee, citing concerns about Democratic involvement in resolving differences between the chambers.
The bill’s path forward relies on the budget reconciliation process, which allows Republicans to bypass Democratic opposition and pass the legislation with a simple majority. This strategy has been critical in advancing Trump’s domestic policy priorities despite unified Democratic resistance.
Conservative House lawmakers, particularly members of the House Freedom Caucus, had voiced concerns about the Senate’s draft even before its passage. Their objections center on provisions they believe increase deficit spending and fail to fully eliminate green energy tax credits.
“We [will] just play a game of hide and seek and kick it back,” Republican South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman said last week, referring to a scenario where the Senate’s bill does not align with House priorities. “The bill we sent over there has got to come back, in large part, like it is or improve it.” Norman, a member of the House Rules Committee and the House Freedom Caucus, has been a vocal critic of the Senate’s changes.
Although most conservative Republicans supported the initial House version of the bill in May, Norman suggested the current situation is unique. “This is different than any other time,” he said, indicating a tougher fight ahead as the House reconsiders the Senate’s amendments.
The internal GOP rift poses a significant challenge to delivering Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill. With leadership and conservative factions at odds, the coming days will test the party’s ability to unify and meet the president’s ambitious timeline.
Stay tuned to the DC Daily Journal.
