Former President Donald Trump is pushing for final approval from the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday for a landmark tax and spending bill that Republicans hope will cement his legacy. The bill narrowly cleared the Senate on Tuesday following 27 hours of intense debate, with Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.
Originally passed by the House in May, the legislation must now return to the lower chamber for final endorsement. Despite House Speaker Mike Johnson’s confidence, passage is uncertain, with slim margins and growing dissent among GOP lawmakers.
“This bill is President Trump’s agenda, and we are making it law,” Johnson stated, asserting that Republicans are prepared to “finish the job.”
The $4.5 trillion package includes provisions for increased military funding, large-scale deportation efforts, and an extension of Trump-era tax cuts. However, the bill adds an estimated $3.3 trillion to the national debt over ten years and introduces the deepest cuts to Medicaid since its inception in the 1960s.
Republican fiscal conservatives have raised alarms over the scale of the spending and deficit increases. “It’s hard for me to conceive that it will pass as is. There’s some amazingly bad stuff in here,” said Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona.
The 887-page bill, revised in the Senate to appeal further to conservative factions, has already cost GOP support in both ideological camps — with some conservatives opposing new debt levels and moderates voicing concern over nearly $1 trillion in healthcare reductions. Estimates suggest up to 17 million people could lose health coverage, and changes to nutrition assistance programs could strip millions of low-income Americans of food stamps.
With a self-imposed July 4 deadline looming, Trump has escalated pressure on lawmakers, urging House Republicans via Truth Social to “GET IT DONE.”
Democrats have condemned the legislation as a regressive redistribution of wealth. “Shame on Senate Republicans for passing this disgusting abomination,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. “And shame on House Republicans for continuing to bend the knee to Donald Trump’s extreme agenda.”
