House Republicans Face Delays and Divisions Over Major Bill

The House of Representatives is currently in a state of delay as Republican leaders attempt to convince a group of dissenting members to support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The vote on a procedural amendment has been ongoing for over two hours, with the current tally at 215-212. Speaker Mike Johnson is engaged in discussions with several fiscal conservative holdouts who are unhappy with the changes made by the Senate to the reconciliation bill. Members of the House were asked to return to their offices around 3:15 p. m. to continue negotiations. Several representatives, including Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, and Chip Roy, had not yet cast their votes on the amendment. The full chamber is expected to vote on the rule, which is a procedural measure to proceed with the final vote on the bill, on Wednesday. However, the House Rules Committee made an oversight during their nearly 12-hour hearing on Tuesday night. They forgot to order the previous question as part of the rule, which is a crucial step in the legislative process. This mistake could potentially trap Speaker Johnson in a debate on the bill with no way out. The current amendment being voted on aims to correct this error. Speaker Johnson left the floor while the vote was still ongoing, ignoring questions from reporters and talking on his phone. Meanwhile, members of the Freedom Caucus and their allies gathered off the House floor to discuss their next steps. Many of them had returned from the White House with their opposition to the bill unchanged. Another factor contributing to the delay is the need to accommodate members who were delayed in reaching Washington due to Tuesday's weather conditions. Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought arrived on Capitol Hill to meet with the holdouts. After the meeting, he reported that they were "making good progress. " House leaders have been promoting the reconciliation bill as the "best product we could produce, " highlighting it as a "legislative sweet spot" given the ideological differences between the House and the Senate. As of 4:15 p. m. , Representatives Biggs, Dunn, and Meuser had voted in favor of the bill.