House Republicans failed to pass the “one big beautiful bill” out of the Budget Committee on Friday after leadership was unable to persuade a handful of GOP fiscal hawks displeased with the reconciliation package’s timelines and ambiguity over raising the state and local taxes cap.

The bill failed, 16 to 21, with Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Chip Roy (R-TX), Josh Brecheen (R-OK), Andrew Clyde (R-GA), and Lloyd Smucker (R-PA) joined all Democrats in voting down the bill. The vote is a major blow to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and his ambitious deadline to pass the reconciliation bill by Memorial Day.

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Norman and Roy had said from the beginning of the hearing that they would be a “no” on the bill unless substantive changes were made. Brecheen and Clyde had remained noncommittal but ultimately, Clyde and Brecheen both voted against the package after they were unable to get reassurances from leadership and the White House. Smucker was originally a “yes” vote and then changed his vote to “no.”

The bill’s failure comes after President Donald Trump urged Republicans to unite around the package, which would cut $1.5 trillion to offset the cost of preserving the president’s 2017 tax break. He told GOP lawmakers to fall in line.

“We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social. “STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”

Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) told reporters ahead of the vote that the White House was working closely with House GOP to get the bill out of committee.

“We are working on some questions that Ralph and others have, and we’re going to be getting them answers as soon as we get them back from the Trump administration,” Scalise said.

Norman had told reporters he thought the Budget Committee should have recessed ahead of the vote.

“If they call for a vote now, it’s not going to end well,” the South Carolina Republican said at the time.

Arrington could only afford to lose two GOP votes and still pass the bill along party lines. Due to the slim margin, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) returned to Capitol Hill after being absent due to paternity leave, however, Gill’s attendance was not enough to surmount opposition within the committee.

Roy blasted Democrats for accusing Republicans of cutting Medicaid and giving tax breaks to billionaires, but he said he also needs to “admonish my colleagues on this side of the aisle.”

“This bill falls profoundly short,” Roy said. “It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits.”
“We shouldn’t say that we’re doing something we’re not doing,” he added. “The fact of the matter is this bill has backloaded savings and has frontloaded spending.”

The Texas Republican said holdouts were still having conversations with leadership ahead of the vote, but unless “serious reforms are made … you’re not going to get my support.”

BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL IN THE BALANCE: GOP FRACTURES OVER MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told reporters Thursday that he is willing to work through the weekend to find a compromise, including finding provisions for a higher SALT cap and enforcing Medicaid work requirements sooner than the proposed 2029 start date. He is still confident that Republicans will be able to meet the ambitious timeline of passing the reconciliation package before Memorial Day recess.

“I’m convinced that we’ll be able to adjust the dial, so to speak, so that we can come to an agreement that will meet the criteria that everybody has and that we can move this thing forward,” Johnson said after Thursday’s meeting with Roy and other members of the Freedom and SALT caucuses.