House Republicans on Thursday morning passed a sweeping bill full of President Trump’s legislative priorities, marking a major win for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) but kicking off what’s expected to be a bitter battle with the Senate over achieving key parts of the White House’s policy agenda.
The chamber cleared the sprawling package in a 215-214 early-morning vote after days of marathon meetings, intense negotiations that spanned both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, and a series of last-minute changes to the bill that were crucial in coalescing Republicans around the measure.
In the end, just two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie (Ky.) and Warren Davidson (Ohio) — opposed the legislation. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) voted “present.”
Republicans on the House floor erupted in cheers and applause when Johnson slammed the gavel just before 7 a.m. EDT to close the successful vote.
The bill — titled the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” adopting Trump’s slogan for the measure — extends the tax cuts enacted by the president during his first term in 2017; boosts funding for border, deportation, and national defense priorities; imposes reforms, like beefed-up work requirements, on Medicaid that are projected to result in millions of low-income individuals losing health insurance; rolls back green energy tax incentives; and, among many other provisions, increases the debt limit by $4 trillion.
It also does away with taxes on tips and overtime — two of Trump’s campaign promises.
The full article is available at ozarksfirst.com.
(Emily Brooks, Mychael Schnell, The Hill, found at ozarksfirst.com)