2 lone Republicans vote against Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' as it heads to president's desk
Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., were the sole defectors against Trump's "big, beautiful bill." House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., could only afford to lose three Republicans, given that no Democrat was willing to cross the aisle to support the $3.3 trillion megabill.
While he did vote to support the procedural hurdle to get the bill on the floor, Massie's decision to vote against the bill was seemingly predetermined. He has continually argued that the colossal tax, border, defense and energy package would add trillions to the nation's debt and do little to actually curb Washington's spending addiction.
And he was not among the many conservatives who Trump and Republican leadership tried to pressure throughout the day on Wednesday, nor as the floor stayed open into early Thursday afternoon.
"[Trump] reaches out every day on Twitter, reaching out with a million dollars of ads in my district with a picture of me and the Ayatollah," Massie said. "So, that's the only sort of reaching out I've seen so far."
While Trump did not directly single him out, the president did call on holdout Republicans to stop holding the bill hostage late Wednesday night, and declared on Truth Social that "MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT'S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!"
Trump had previously threatened Massie with a primary challenger, as he did with Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., before his retirement announcement, for defecting against the bill.
But senior White House officials told reporters on a call just after the bill passed that the president had not threatened a primary against lawmakers to earn their vote, and that lawmakers "well understand the President's political power, and ultimately, they want his political power to be used for their benefit."
Fitzpatrick had raised concerns about changes the Senate GOP had made to Medicaid reforms in the bill but had not publicly staked a position until the procedural vote.
He was the only 'no' vote on the rule, and that resistance carried into the final vote that ultimately saw House Republicans largely unify and pass the legislative behemoth.
Fitzpatrick said in a statement just minutes before the bill passed that he had voted to "strengthen Medicaid protections, to permanently extend middle class tax cuts, for enhanced small business tax relief, and for historic investments in our border security and our military," but that the Senate's tweaks soured him to the bill.
"However, it was the Senate's amendments to Medicaid, in addition to several other Senate provisions, that altered the analysis for our PA-1 community," he said. "The original House language was written in a way that protected our community; the Senate amendments fell short of our standard."
"I believe in, and will always fight for, policies that are thoughtful, compassionate, and good for our community," he continued. "It is this standard that will always guide my legislative decisions."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
13 minutes ago
- CNN
Trump: I Have Not Been Briefed On What Maxwell Told Blanche - The Source with Kaitlan Collins - Podcast on CNN Podcasts
Trump: I Have Not Been Briefed On What Maxwell Told Blanche The Source with Kaitlan Collins 45 mins A look at what is happening behind the scenes at the White House and what the survivors are saying about this administration's handling of the fallout from the Jeffrey Epstein files.
CNN
15 minutes ago
- CNN
Rep. Nancy Mace touts ties to Trump in campaign-style town hall
Republican Rep. Nancy Mace, fresh off an announced bid for South Carolina's governor's mansion, jockeyed for an endorsement from President Donald Trump and sought to tie herself closely to him in a public meeting with a friendly crowd Wednesday. While members of her party have been encouraged to hold town halls over their August break from Washington to sell Trump's agenda out in the country, Mace's event – billed as 'The Mother of All Town Halls' – more closely resembled a campaign event. Mace spoke at length about her plans for governor and answered some questions from a crowd of supporters at a venue outside of South Carolina's First Congressional District, which Mace has represented since 2020. She teased plans to hold similar events across the state. The three-term congresswoman spent much of her remarks aligning herself with Trump and touting what she's done for the president, specifically citing her 2024 interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos that resulted in a $15 million defamation settlement, paid toward Trump's presidential library. 'Trump won that defamation suit, right, and how Nancy Mace will not back down, and Nancy Mace will hold the line,' Mace said. She continued, 'I haven't told the president this, but my one ask, I just want one ask, because the $15 million is supposed to be used to build his presidential library. I just want my name over a women's bathroom,' she continued, nodding to her pushes to ban transgender women from women's restrooms. Mace lobbied for an endorsement from Trump, one that will be critical in a crowded GOP gubernatorial primary that includes fellow Trump ally and South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman and state Attorney General Alan Wilson, who was the target of multiple Mace jabs Wednesday. 'I'm just saying, I've done a lot for the president,' Mace said. 'If you talk to him, I would really like his support for governor.' In her speech, the congresswoman also continued to claim credit for a $195 million infrastructure grant in the Palmetto State, a grant only possible because of former President Joe Biden's infrastructure law. 'One of the things the press will not tell you: I am one of the leading members of Congress who's gotten resources for our state,' Mace said. 'In fact, our office assisted in getting the largest infrastructure grant in South Carolina history, at $195 million earlier this year. The press won't tell you that.' Mace at the time joined some of her House Republican colleagues in voting against the measure. Asked by CNN about her ability to tout the grant as an accomplishment despite having not voted for the bill, Mace said she 'absolutely' could. 'We fight over how we spend the money, how we appropriate it, but once the appropriations happen, I'm gonna make sure that South Carolina, that we get our fair share, because that money's getting spent and our tax dollars in South Carolina is equal to anybody else's in California, New York, Tennessee,' she said. She later continued, 'Just because we disagree on how the money's spent means we shouldn't get money for our roads and bridges? Isn't that kind of hypocritical, that's ironic?' Mace on Wednesday also backed Texas' efforts to redraw its congressional map, telling reporters she 'would arrest the Texas Legislature' and supports '[Texas GOP Gov. Greg] Abbott in the Texas Legislature to do what's fair, what's right.' The congresswoman set herself apart from Norman, who pushed Wednesday for the South Carolina State Assembly to redraw the Palmetto State's congressional lines. 'I think our lines are good. We did a great job. The state. Congress doesn't do anything with drawing the lines. We don't have any legal authority, alright? It's done by the state legislature, the judiciary specifically. But the lines were drawn.' Mace later further separated herself from Norman, who singled out Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn's district as one to target. 'Well, constitutionally, there has to be a seat for a Democrat in a Black, you know, census for Jim Clyburn for a Democrat seat,' Mace said. 'So that's constitutionally, civil rights that exists. It's always going to be a Democrat seat.'
Fox News
15 minutes ago
- Fox News
Dems gerrymandered the vote beyond recognition: Stephen Miller
Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller discusses Democrats' backlash to the redistricting fight in Texas on 'Hannity.'
