The House of Representatives has cleared the first procedural hurdle on the GOP's One Big Beautiful Bill. The House has now moved to debate the rule of the bill. When debate concludes, the House will vote to adopt the rule, potentially discharging the package for a floor vote on final passage. The vote will offer the first opportunity for conservative hardliners to signficantly delay passage of the bill by voting down the rule.
- The vote tally on the first procedural vote indicates there are currently eight Republican absences and one Democratic absence. That number is likely to change during the day.
- Meredith Lee Hill at Politico notes that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), "just met off campus with a mix of fiscal hawks. Inside the meeting - there were Freedom Caucus hardliners but ALSO key and hugely influential budget hawks like Rep Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania that group held out for a better deal last time."
- If Johnson convinces hardliners to approve the rule, the bill will be on a relatively smooth path to Trump's desk. If the rule is rejected, negotiations and horse trading are likely to continue through the day.
- Rep Tim Burchett (R-TN) told reporters ahead of the White House meeting, when asked what the White House could say to flip his vote: “Reduce the deficit, answer our questions, stick to the House framework”.