WASHINGTON ― Republicans’ “big, beautiful bill” went down in a big, ugly flop as conservatives voted against the measure in the House Budget Committee on Friday.
The bill failed by a vote of 21–16, with all Democrats and five Republicans on the committee voting no. The Republicans said they would negotiate through the weekend on changes that could win their support.
The vote was a significant setback for President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), but it’s entirely possible Republicans will regroup and push the bill through the committee on Sunday evening, when they plan to try again.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” would cut food and health care programs by $1 trillion to help pay for nearly $5 trillion in tax cuts, representing the chief domestic policy goal of Trump’s second term.
Conservatives want the cuts to go deeper and warned Thursday they would vote against the bill during committee action on Friday, but Speaker Johnson pressed forward anyway in hopes of passing the bill through the House by Memorial Day.
