Trump Tax Bill Fails To Advance As Conservative Holdouts Double Down On ‘No’

Update (1210ET): The House Budget Committee has voted down the reconciliation bill by a vote of 16-21 – with GOP Reps. Clyde, Roy, Breechen, Norman and Smucker (who flipped his vote) all voting “no”.

“This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits,” said Rep. Chip Roy.

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA) said “I am unable to support this package in its current form, but I look forward to strengthening this bill to ensure that it does pass, so that we full all of our America First promises to the American people.”

Whilst Ralph Norman (R-SC) said “Sadly, I’m a hard no until we get this ironed out.”

According to Punchbowl‘s Jake Sherman, Smucker likely flipped “no” to preserve the ability to reconsider the bill at a later time.

House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Jody Arrington (R-TX) said after the vote “I do not anticipate us coming back today.”

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A fiery intra-party fight exploded on Capitol Hill Friday as House Republicans clashed over President Donald Trump’s mammoth “One Big Beautiful Bill,” with Trump himself jumping into the fray to torch conservative holdouts as attention-hungry “grandstanders.”

As the House Budget Committee met to advance the 1,116-plus-page megabill – packed with Trump’s signature proposals on taxes, Medicaid, and immigration – chaos broke out behind the scenes, and in front of the cameras, as hardline conservatives threatened to blow up the entire process.

“Republicans MUST UNITE behind ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’” Trump posted on Truth Social. “We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!”

The scorched-earth post came as the House Budget Committee met down to mark up the massive reconciliation bill, which bundles together much of Trump’s second-term policy wishlist: tax cuts, welfare reform, immigration crackdowns, and the death of Biden’s green energy subsidies.

But what was supposed to be a legislative victory lap turned into a high-stakes hostage crisis, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) caught between warring GOP factions, each demanding major changes and threatening to sink the bill if they don’t get their way.

Conservatives on the committee – Reps. Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Andrew Clyde, and Josh Brecheen – signaled they were ready to vote against the bill unless major changes were made. Their demands include a faster phase-in of Medicaid work requirements, a ban on undocumented immigrants receiving federal benefits, and immediate termination of Inflation Reduction Act clean energy provisions.

“If they don’t [change it], I’m gonna vote no. We’ll kill it,” Norman warned Thursday. “I don’t want to. But I will.”

The vote is ongoing, with Roy and Norman both using their time during committee to voice their opposition, CNN‘s Sarah Farris reports.

Ok we’re now at TWO no votes: Roy and Norman both used their time during committee to say they’re opposed

Both Brecheen and Clyde supposed to speak now but neither are there to speak. If either opposes, it’s done for today. https://t.co/pDIwEaw6zT

— Sarah Ferris (@sarahnferris) May 16, 2025

The tension spilled into full view Friday morning when Norman, Roy, and Clyde abruptly left the committee room moments before the markup was scheduled to begin, prompting immediate speculation they were staging a walkout. All three returned shortly afterward, saying little, but still signaling deep frustration.

Norman told reporters the situation was “very disappointing,” adding “I hope they recess.”

Rep. Roy: “I’m not going home this weekend. I’m staying here all weekend and we’re going to get this damn thing done but the right way.

I’m not going to vote for a bad bill. I didn’t come here to raise debt. I didn’t come here to increase deficits. I didn’t come here to cement… pic.twitter.com/0jcqR9cgz3

— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) May 16, 2025

Johnson, for his part, is trying to keep the circus moving. He has pledged to make some concessions – such as speeding up work requirement timelines and possibly harmonizing those across both Medicaid and SNAP – but every adjustment risks triggering a backlash from the other side of the GOP spectrum.

“If you push too hard on one side, the other side bulges out,” opines Punchbowl News. “That’s exactly what’s happening here.”

Very SALTy

Moderates are already howling over cuts to safety net programs and demanding changes of their own. Blue-state Republicans want the SALT deduction cap raised above the $30,000 ceiling currently in the bill. Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) wants to remove language that would block legal refugees from getting food aid. And Florida Republicans are furious over a provision that clamps down on provider taxes – a method states use to draw more federal Medicaid dollars.

The markup itself became a theater of dysfunction – with Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) joking about the fact that he went viral earlier this week for falling asleep during a late-night hearing. “I also appreciate that you schedule the markup during daylight hours,” he said. Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) fired back: “Some of the staff decided to chip in and equip your chair with an electric shocking mechanism… I hope that is also a bipartisan proposal.”

Unbelievable. Rep. Blake Moore falls asleep during a committee meeting and had to be woken up. pic.twitter.com/xSKPKkP628

— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) May 14, 2025

But behind the laughs, the reality is grim. With Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) absent for the birth of his child, Johnson can’t afford even a single Republican defection if he wants the bill to make it out of committee.

Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) tried to downplay the drama, telling reporters, “The goal is to get it out of the committee today… because failure is not an option.”

How did we get here? These speed bumps aren’t surprising. This is a gigantic legislative grab-bag with lots of disparate priorities. We get that. It reminds us a bit of Build Back Better – which failed and led to the IRA, for what it’s worth. -Punchbowl News

Indeed, Speaker Johnson has tried to do what many before him could not: push through a comprehensive, everything-at-once bill that pleases both fire-breathing conservatives and centrist pragmatists. But by skipping the usual slow walk through committee education and member negotiations, he may have created a legislative trap for himself.

And of course, after all of this – the bill still has to get through the Senate…

Stay tuned for updates…