'Smart' GOP holdout Brian Fitzpatrick flees after voting 'No' on Trump's Big Beautiful Bill; phone unreachable
As the results flashed on the screen at the House, Fitzpatrick's GOP colleagues tried to locate him on the Senate floor, possibly to get him to change his vote, but the former FBI agent was nowhere to be found.
Melanie Zanona, the Capitol Hill correspondent for NBC News, reported that Fitzpatrick stormed out of the House immediately after casting his vote against the bill. GOP Rep. Dusty Johnson of South Dakota reacted to Fitzpatrick's departure, sarcastically calling it a "smart" move. The report added that Johnson then tried to phone Fitzpatrick but has not been able to reach him.
The test vote on Wednesday came after the House GOP decided to push ahead with the bill despite there being a sharp division within the GOP camp regarding Trump's 'Big Beautiful Bill.' While deciding on whether to push ahead with the bill at the House, the House GOP ended up in a deadlock and Vice President JD Vance had to cast the a tie-breaking vote.
Earlier on Wednesday, President Trump held a discussions with the GOP holdouts, which resulted in many of them switching in favor of it. However, even in the latest test vote, the House GOP had four holdouts; Andrew Clyde, Victoria Spart and Keith Self, along with Fitzpatrick.
Also read: Trump vs Mamdani: Why does US President 'want to arrest' NYC mayoral candidate?
'We're In A Good Place' - Mike Johnson
As the House got to work on the bill after a seven-hour deadlock, Speaker Mike Johnson said that the House GOP is "in a good place" regarding the passage of the bill before Trump's self-imposed deadline of July 4. He added that Trump's discussion with lawmakers has proved crucial in thawing tensions withing the GOP camp.
We've been talking with members from across the conference and making sure that everyone's concerns are addressed, and their questions are answered, and it's, it's been a good day,' Speaker Johnson said.
'We're in a good place right now. This is the legislative process, this is exactly how I think the framers intended for it to work. We feel very good about where we are and we're moving forward.'
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