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No one expected the final House passage of the tax cuts for the rich while taking food and healthcare away from millions bill to be easy. Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson made the task even more difficult with an artificial deadline that has left them trying to muscle through a changed piece of legislation in two days.
So far, it’s going about as well as expected.
Punchbowl News reported:
So far, a bunch of HFC members are saying they’ll vote no. Norman told us that he’s a no on the rule and on the bill. Roy expressed major concerns over projections that the package could add trillions of dollars to the deficit. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) said on local radio that he doesn’t believe the bill will “pass as is” and said he agreed with Elon Musk that the bill is “bad.”
Trump and Johnson got many of these Republicans to flip last time with the idea that the bill would get better. That string has run out.
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We spoke to several people on the House GOP whip team Tuesday night who were expressing alarm about what they’re seeing on their whip cards. These sources said that they were racking up no’s from lawmakers who they didn’t expect would be opposed to the bill.
Currently, there are between one and two dozen Republicans say they will vote no. This list doesn’t include Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) who is already a confirmed no. With Massie being a no, Republicans can lose two votes before the bill goes down.
As I said on the live chat at The Daily, there are two paths for the BBB. Either it narrowly passes, or it spectacularly crashes and burns as a large number of House Republicans refuse to support it.
House Republicans have learned that there is strength in numbers because Trump is a bully who prefers to target individuals. They can avoid Trump’s wrath by sticking together in groups, so if this bill fails and gets kicked back to the Senate, it will be because more than a few House Republicans said no.
The House Republicans have no reason to push the bill through this week. They would be risking their seats, so that Trump gets a photo-op for the 4th of July. If they reject the Senate bill, they will force it to be changed.
Trump and Johnson may still get this bill through, but there are big problems, and it definitely won’t be easy.
What do you think about the House GOP’s BBB problems? Share your thoughts in the comments below.