A floor vote will take place later tonight. Republicans can only afford to lose a handful of votes.
The House Rules Committee on late May 21 advanced a sweeping bill to enact President Donald Trump’s agenda after a marathon 21-hour session, clearing the legislation for a floor vote in the coming hours.
The legislation, called the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” passed the committee in an 8–4 party-line vote.
Republican Leaders unveiled an amendment to the megabill in the evening on May 21, tailored to address objections from fiscal conservatives and moderates in the Republican conference.
Dubbed a “manager’s amendment” in Capitol Hill parlance, the changes were unveiled following a marathon 19-hour debate in the House Rules Committee on the legislation. Its release followed a day of hurried negotiations between Trump, Johnson, and conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus.
The amendment makes consequential changes to several key components of the bill, including the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction and Medicaid.
It would accelerate the start date of Medicaid work requirements—which are strengthened under the bill—from 2029 to 2026. It also speeds up the phasing out of Inflation Reduction Act energy tax credits for wind, solar, and battery storage in 2028, with some exceptions.
The amendment also bumps the SALT deduction cap up to $40,000 per household with an income of up to $500,000.
Those two changes could assuage conservatives, who have demanded steeper cuts, as well as a contingent of purple district moderates who have pushed for increasing the SALT deduction and gradual phasing-out of certain Inflation Reduction Act projects.
The amendment also includes $12 billion in potential grants to states for border security actions.
It also includes a provision to remove the requirement to register silencer attachments under the National Firearms Act of 1934, a move that was immediately celebrated by gun rights groups.
After the Rules Committee reconvened to consider the amendment, Ranking Member Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) was critical of the panel moving ahead with the vote, saying that the changes contained in the manager’s amendment were too consequential for immediate consideration.
The Democrat made a motion to adjourn to stall consideration of the amendment, but it was defeated easily in a party-line vote. McGovern put forward several additional motions and amendments to stall the vote.
By Joseph Lord and Lawrence Wilson
