This was the news Trump didn’t want to hear. Now he’s dealing with the aftermath.
And Congress has handed Donald Trump a gigantic defeat that’s completely roadblocked his agenda.
President Donald Trump’s ambitious tax reform plan, touted as a “big, beautiful bill,” faced a significant setback on Friday, failing to advance past the House Budget Committee. The measure, designed to overhaul the tax code and deliver sweeping cuts, met resistance from a group of Republican fiscal conservatives who argued it wouldn’t cut into the federal budget deficit.
The House Budget Committee vote ended in a 21-16 defeat for the reconciliation measure, with five Republicans—Chip Roy (Texas), Ralph Norman (South Carolina), Josh Brecheen (Oklahoma), Andrew Clyde (Georgia), and Lloyd Smucker (Pennsylvania)—joining Democrats to block its progress. The decision halted the bill’s momentum, prompting Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) to announce a pause in proceedings. “I do not anticipate us coming back today,” Arrington said, signaling the committee would likely reconvene on Monday to address the impasse.
The opposition from GOP members stemmed from concerns over the bill’s fiscal impact. According to the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget (CRFB), the legislation could increase the federal deficit by $3.3 trillion over the next ten years in its current iteration. If Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, including provisions to exempt tips, overtime, and Social Security income from IRS payments, are made permanent, the CRFB projects the deficit could swell by $5.2 trillion by 2034.
Fiscal Hawks Demand Change
Leading the charge against the bill, Rep. Chip Roy delivered a sharp critique, arguing the measure failed to deliver on promises of fiscal responsibility. “This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits,” Roy declared.
He criticized the legislation for prioritizing immediate spending while deferring savings, warning, “This bill has backloaded savings and has front-loaded spending. We are writing checks we cannot cash, and our children are gonna pay the price.” Roy vowed to oppose the bill unless “serious reforms” were introduced, whether “today, tomorrow,” or “Sunday.”
Rep. Ralph Norman echoed Roy’s concerns, praising the $3.8 trillion in tax cuts as “great” but rejecting the bill until specific Medicaid provisions were removed. Norman targeted benefits for “able-bodied” Americans and non-citizens receiving emergency services, calling for their immediate elimination.
The bill’s text, released by the House Ways and Means Committee, revealed that these Medicaid changes wouldn’t take effect until 2029—a timeline that frustrated conservatives like Roy and Norman, who left the hearing abruptly after Arrington admitted, “a whole lot of work is still left undone.”
Trump’s Push for Unity
The bill’s defeat came despite fervent advocacy from President Trump, who championed the measure as a cornerstone of his economic agenda. Posting on Truth Social while returning from the Middle East, Trump urged party unity, writing, “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’ Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need.”
Trump warned that failure to pass the legislation would lead to a 65% tax hike, which he claimed would devastate voters and be pinned on Democrats. “The Country will suffer greatly without this Legislation,” he wrote, decrying “GRANDSTANDERS” in the GOP and urging lawmakers to “STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!” He framed the bill as a remedy for the “MESS” left by the Biden administration.
A Path Forward?
Despite the setback, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) expressed confidence in salvaging the bill. Following discussions with fiscal conservatives and New York Republicans advocating for a higher state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap—currently set at $30,000—Johnson emphasized a commitment to fiscal balance. “If you do more on SALT, you have to find more in savings,” he stated. “We are trying to do this in a deficit-neutral way.”
The Road Ahead
The bill’s failure to clear the committee highlights the delicate balance Republicans must strike between delivering on Trump’s tax cut promises and addressing concerns about long-term fiscal stability.
With only three GOP defectors needed to derail the measure, the path to passage remains uncertain. The reconciliation process, which allows the bill to pass with a simple majority, offers a potential lifeline—if the party can unify behind a revised proposal.
As the Budget Committee prepares to reconvene, all eyes are on whether GOP leaders can address the demands of fiscal hawks while preserving the core elements of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.” For now, the legislation remains a work in progress, with the promise of tax relief hanging in the balance.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
