Trumps big beautiful bill clears final hurdle before House floor vote

Bleary-eyed House Republicans advanced the One Big Beautiful Bill Act past the Rules Committee after a marathon hearing Wednesday, overcoming the final hurdle needed to bring it up for a floor vote.In an 8-4 vote shortly before 11 p.m., the colossal legislation cleared the GOP-led committee along party lines.The panel convened at 1 a.m.Wednesday to consider the measure due to requirements that Democrats get two days to file minority views.A “Manager’s Amendment” making last-minute tweaks to the mammoth bill — including a provision cementing a deal to increase the State and Local Tax (SALT) deductions cap by 400% — was unveiled to the committee after more than 20 hours of debate.More than 500 amendments introduced by Democrats were rejected over the course of the punishingly drawn-out hearing.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has been hoping to push the megabill through the House by Memorial Day before the lower chamber breaks for a one-week recess next week, but is still grappling with multiple holdouts and a razor-thin margin.The Rules Committee’s approval means that the legislative bundle only needs a simple majority to clear the House, rather than a two-thirds majority if leadership were forced to bypass the gatekeeping committee.

Still, Republicans can only afford to lose three votes at most if there’s full attendance, given their 220 to 213 majority.To get to President Trump’s desk, the measure will also have to clear the Senate and has been specifically designed to take advantage of the upper chamber’s reconciliation process, enabling it to bypass a Democratic filibuster, which requires 60 votes to overcome.

Several senators, such as Sens.Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), have voiced opposition to the measure in its current form.

Republicans have a 53 to 47-seat majority in the Senate.Trump met with House Republicans at the Capitol on Tuesday in a bid to pressure them to get the monster bill over the finish line and commended John...