President Donald Trump's ambitious $3.3 trillion legislative proposal, dubbed the "big, beautiful bill," has reportedly set a new record in the House of Representatives for the longest vote in its history.
This procedural vote on the Senate-amended version of the bill extended beyond seven hours, surpassing the previous record set in 2021 during the vote on President Joe Biden's "Build Back Better" package, which lasted seven hours and six minutes.
According to Fox News, the voting session on Wednesday night exceeded the prior record by at least 15 minutes, reaching its peak at 9:15 p.m. ET. The drawn-out process drew criticism from Assistant House Minority Leader Joe Neguse, D-Colo., who accused House Republicans of violating House rules with the extended voting period, as reported by Axios.
The prolonged vote was a result of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., negotiating with members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. These members expressed concerns over the Senate's version of the bill, citing its potential to increase the federal deficit and its lack of substantial Medicaid reforms and spending cuts. Representative Chip Roy, R-Texas, voiced his disapproval of the Senate's reintroduction of green energy tax credits, which the House had previously attempted to eliminate.
With Democrats standing united in opposition, the fate of the extensive Trump-endorsed bill hinges on a small group of Republican holdouts. After the overnight session, Speaker Johnson expressed his commitment to advancing the Senate-amended bill through the House and onto the president's desk by the Independence Day deadline on Friday.
In the early hours of Thursday, lawmakers voted to proceed with debate on the Trump agenda bill through a "rule vote," setting the stage for a final House-wide vote later that morning. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., addressed reporters Thursday morning, noting that in addition to the House Freedom Caucus, some moderate Republicans still had questions about the bill's implementation.
"Some of them wanted to talk to some of the different agencies about, you know, how they're planning on implementing it, which obviously the agency heads have been planning for months on these changes," Scalise remarked. "So they walk through those things and that was helpful to members just to at least get a good idea of what to expect once the bill becomes law. Of course, none of it happens if the bill doesn't become law. So the focus has always been, let's get this bill passed."
The Senate narrowly approved the "big, beautiful bill" with a 51-50 vote, with Vice President JD Vance casting the decisive vote. As the House prepares for its final decision, the outcome remains uncertain, with the potential to significantly impact the nation's fiscal landscape and policy direction.
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