At one point, it appeared as though there were nearly two dozen Republicans in the House who were not going ot support the BBB when it came time for a vote.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), however, was determined to get this on Trump’s desk for his signature on Independence Day, so he had the House stay in session all night until he drummed up enough support to get it passed.
When all was said and done, there were only two holdouts, just inside the cushion that Johnson had to get the bill passed, giving Trump yet another monumental win during the early days of this administration.
With only a 220-212 advantage, Johnson had only three votes to spare, and it took all night to get enough votes on board, and this reportedly required Donald Trump to reach out to individual members to support the legislation.
One of the biggest changes of heart was Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who had been adamant that he would not support the bill, but in the end, as he often does, he folded. He then posted online that it was not a cave, as his caucus dramatically cut spending and got some big wins.
Is the bill perfect? Absolutely not, as there is plenty in there to not only like, but love. My biggest overall concern is how much this bill will contribute to the national debt, which has continued to increase with Trump in office, and is now over $37 trillion, and I believe it will be over $40 trillion by the time the president leaves office on this bill alone.
Trump says that is wrong, and this bill will create enough growth to offset the debt, and I really hope he is right. Like it or not, the outcome of the 2026 and 2028 elections is going to ride on this bill, so I am rooting for Trump to be right and for me to be wrong. That aside, now is the time for Trump and Speaker Johnson to celebrate, as there is just no way I ever thought they could get his legislation across the finish line and signed by Trump on Independence Day.
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) did not flinch against the threats from Trump, and he was one of two “no” votes in the House on Wednesday.
Trump did not even waste his time trying to talk to Massie, even though the lawmaker had cracked open the door to let the president and Johnson know what it would take to get him to flip his vote.
With reports of Trump making calls all night, Massie stated, "[Trump] reaches out every day on Twitter, reaching out with a million dollars of ads in my district with a picture of me and the Ayatollah. So, that's the only sort of reaching out I've seen so far."
You guys know where I stand on Trump attacking and bullying members of Congress, so I will not rehash that. Massie is not going anywhere, however, so Trump needs to figure out a way to get Massie on his side rather than creating another enemy within the party and disenfranchising his supporters.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) was a surprise for me, as I fully expected him to cave when push came to shove, but Medicaid was a big concern for him, and he refused to put his name on this legislation.
Defending his vote, he stated, "However, it was the Senate’s amendments to Medicaid, in addition to several other Senate provisions, that altered the analysis for our PA-1 community. The original House language was written in a way that protected our community; the Senate amendments fell short of our standard.
"I believe in, and will always fight for, policies that are thoughtful, compassionate, and good for our community. It is this standard that will always guide my legislative decisions."
I have no problem with this, and while I have stated I would have opposed the legislation, I am still happy that Trump got it passed. This was his legacy piece of legislation, which he said would help grow our economy and start chipping away at our debt, while also ridding the government of entitlement waste and fraud, as well as securing the border. I am cheering for Trump to be able to do all of that because if he doesn’t, we lose the House in 2026 and the White House in 2028. Trump got what he wanted, so now he has to deliver for us.