House Republicans momentarily froze President Trump’s legislative agenda on Wednesday afternoon.
As a result of conservative reservations and weather delays, the two procedural votes that were supposed to start discussion on Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” in the early afternoon never happened.
At this stage, it is unclear if the crucial vote will go forward today. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., one of the bill’s biggest critics, told reporters a vote was still “possible.”
A response of “no, not yet” was his response to the question of whether he had received the necessary materials from the White House to back the ordinance. “But the evening is so young.”
House Republican leaders were hoping to begin discussion on the massive immigration and tax measure through a “rule vote,” setting the stage for a vote on the final approval of the legislation by late Wednesday or early Thursday, at the latest.
The president has instructed Republicans to have a package ready for signature by July 4th, though he has indicated in recent remarks that he is OK with a slight delay.
The original plan called for three votes in the early afternoon, with the rule vote serving as the third. Even as of Wednesday night at the crack of dawn, the House floor remains essentially immobile, and the vote remains open.
Members of Congress who had anticipated a vote were instructed to go back to their offices until further notice.
Following a meeting adjacent to the House floor, several members of the House Freedom Caucus chose not to speak on the topic at hand. However, a number of these members have recently voiced their strong disagreement with the Senate’s version of Trump’s agenda bill.
Included in the massive bill is Trump’s plan to address the national debt, energy, the border, and taxes.
Russell Vought, director of the office of management and budget, was spotted coming and going from the room where the budget hawks were congregated.
He only informed the reporters that they were “making good progress” before leaving the room, and that was about it.
According to Republican Representative Chip Roy of Texas, conservatives were reportedly consulting with the Trump administration on how to address conservative concerns with the existing draft.
Modest Republican senators were worried that the plan would soon phase off most of the green energy tax subsidies included in former president Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which infuriated fiscal hawks.
Even while Republicans in the Senate have resisted, they have maintained that their package will increase the deficit more than the House’s original proposal.
The Senate’s output did not meet our expectations. Even though I had public misgivings about them, we began to think there was a way forward late last week. “However, they rushed it through in a manner that we aren’t particularly thrilled about,” Roy remarked. “So, now we’re trying to understand what our options are from this point.”
Representatives Josh Brecheen (R-Oklahoma) and Keith Self (R-Texas) chose not to speak with media on the meeting.
Tennessee Republican Tim Burchett expressed his misgivings about the measure to reporters as he left the meeting, saying, “I’m just waiting to see what’s going on honestly.” Burchett is not a member of the Freedom Caucus but has some reservations about the idea. “We’re all just trying to figure out what’s going on and figure out a solution,”
Prior to the bill’s discussion, Burchett informed reporters that he was inclined to vote in support of it.
However, with only three Republicans defecting, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) may still carry the measure along party lines.
