WASHINGTON — In a dramatic overnight session and drawn-out floor discussion into the afternoon, the House finally passed President Donald Trump’s signature tax and spending bill Thursday, narrowly advancing the Senate version of the legislation in a 218-214 vote. The tight margin followed hours of negotiations between Republican leaders and GOP holdouts as they pushed to meet a self-imposed July 4 deadline to send the bill to the president’s desk.
The vote capped a tense night and exhausting day in the Capitol. Lawmakers began casting votes at 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, but the final tally wasn’t complete until 3:20 a.m. Thursday. GOP leaders and the White House spent the night pressing reluctant Republicans to fall in line.
“What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!” President Trump wrote on Truth Social shortly after midnight.
Following the procedural vote, the House launched into debate. At around 5 a.m., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries took to the floor under the “magic minute” rule, which allows party leaders unlimited speaking time. He continued for a record-breaking 8 hours, harshly criticizing the bill.
“I rise today in strong opposition to Donald Trump’s one, big ugly bill,” Jeffries said. “This disgusting, abomination, the GOP tax scam, that guts Medicaid, rips food from the mouths of children, seniors and veterans, and rewards billionaires with massive tax breaks. Every single Democrat stands in strong opposition to this bill because we’re standing up for the American people.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke for a few minutes after the long-winded speech calling the Democratic efforts “radical woke,” saying the left is “not your father’s Democratic Party.”
The legislation, a cornerstone of Trump’s second-term agenda, includes expanded tax cuts, heightened defense and border security spending, and energy development. To offset the cost, it also imposes deep cuts to Medicaid and nutrition programs.
After the Senate approved the bill Tuesday, House Republicans hoped to move quickly. But backlash erupted among conservatives and moderates over changes made in the Senate, particularly steeper Medicaid reductions, a higher debt ceiling increase, and modifications to green energy and SALT (state and local tax) deductions.
Several controversial items were stripped out of the final Senate version, including a provision allowing the sale of public lands, a decade-long moratorium on state AI regulation, and a renewable energy excise tax.
Speaker Johnson, who had pleaded with the Senate to keep the House version intact, acknowledged the frustration among House Republicans. “The Senate bill’s changes went a little further than many of us would’ve preferred,” he said.
Johnson credited Trump’s personal involvement for helping sway hesitant Republicans. “Members wanted to hear certain assurances from him about what’s ahead, what the future will entail, and what we’re going to do next, and all of that,” he said. “And he was very, very helpful in that process.”
At one point during the procedural vote, five Republicans had voted no—enough to block the bill with the GOP’s narrow majority—while eight others hadn’t voted at all. The vote remained open as leadership lobbied members to flip their votes. Trump again weighed in on social media: “FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!”
In the end, GOP leaders flipped enough votes to secure passage. Only two Republicans voted against the final version.
