The House Freedom Caucus and like-minded allies sent out a three-page document blasting the “failures” of the Senate version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, a signal that House GOP leaders have not yet convinced holdouts.
In the document, fiscal hawks accuse the Senate of increasing deficits, watering down cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, and agreeing to a high state and local tax deduction cap “gimmick.”
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But the document also lists more specific changes made in the Senate, such as only prohibiting the use of Medicaid funds to reimburse health clinics that also provide elective abortions, such as Planned Parenthood, for one year instead of the 10-year period passed in the House.
The three-pager comes as several Freedom Caucus members and fiscal conservative allies have opposed the bill. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) can only afford to lose three votes and pass the bill along party lines, with that number fluctuating depending on Democratic attendance.
Many fiscal hawks traveled to the White House on Wednesday morning to meet with President Donald Trump as the president steps in to garner support for the bill, which extends the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and calls for nearly $1.5 trillion in spending cuts.
But deficit-leery conservatives argue the Senate’s version ignores the verbal promise made by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to treat the budget framework as a floor and not a ceiling. Johnson encouraged Senate Republicans not to alter the One Big Beautiful Bill Act drastically, reminding the upper chamber of his razor-thin majority.
But changes to Medicaid continue to be a sticking point for both fiscal hawks and centrist Republicans. Fiscal hawks argue the Senate’s version doesn’t go far enough, while centrists believe alterations to the provider tax and other areas are too extreme.
Earlier in the day, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) told the Washington Examiner that he was still a firm “no” on both the procedural rule and final passage for the bill, noting that there is “probably not” much leadership can do to sway him. However, he, like many of his debt-conscious peers, is known to cave and vote for spending bills, so eyes will be on him and his colleagues to see whether they will vote against the legislation.
Freedom Caucus Sentate OBBBA grievances by web-producers
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Johnson and other leaders have urged final passage of the reconciliation bill ahead of the July 4 deadline, arguing that it is the “best product we could produce” and reminding lawmakers that any changes, big or small, require the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to go back to the Senate.
The Senate passed its version of the bill on Tuesday after over 26 hours of debate and amendments. The House Rules Committee met for over 12 hours Tuesday evening, with Norman and Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) voting “no” with Democrats on passing the bill out of the committee.