Politics
JUST IN: Big Beautiful Bill Clears Massive Hurdle After GOP Rep. Flips
The Trump-backed One Big Beautiful Bill cleared a crucial hurdle to final passage on Wednesday after U.S. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), who voted no on the House’s initial vote, has flipped his vote to “yes” on the Senate-passed amended version, The Daily Caller reported.
Davidson was one of two Republican representatives who voted against the Big Beautiful Bill on May 22, the other being Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). The bill ultimately passed by a vote of 215-214, with all Democrats voting against.
It then headed to the Senate, where it faced a fierce political back-and-forth before ultimately passing by a vote of 51-50 earlier this week. A number of the conference’s budget hawks, including Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Mike Lee (R-UT), ultimately voted for the legislation after previously expressing opposition, while Vice President J.D. Vance was forced to cast a tie-breaking vote after Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) voted against.
As the House works to pass the amended version in time for President Trump’s July 4 deadline, Davidson was seen as a pivotal hurdle to clear given the GOP’s slim majority in the chamber. The hurdle appears to have been cleared, however, as Davidson told Daily Caller reporter Adam Pack that he will be voting for the bill.
The congressman added that he hopes the legislation passes today and will be signed into law by President Trump’s July 4 deadline. “I wish it was a little better product, but I think it’s as good as we’re going to get, not just before July 4. If we ran it longer, the real deadline is the debt limit,” Davidson said.
“And I think even if we ran it longer, the odds of getting a better product before that debt limit are really low.”
The monumental flip comes just hours after President Trump met with a number of potential holdouts at the White House on Wednesday. Among those present for the meeting include House Freedom Caucus members Chip Roy (R-TX), Ralph Norman (R-SC), Tim Burchett (R-TN) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).
The Freedom Caucus has expressed concerns over lack of spending cuts in the bill, arguing that spending cuts targeted in the House version are not being honored. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has pushed back on this reading, pointing out that the Congressional Budget Office’s assessment of the bill counts tax cuts as spending.
Rep. Burchett expressed optimism following the White House meeting, which he described as “wonderful” and “informative” in a livestream alongside fellow Freedom Caucus members. “Big day today folks, hopefully we get this thing worked out. The president answered all of our questions, he was very informative. J.D. Vance was there, it was just a very good day,” the congressman said.
A number of moderate Republicans who represent districts Trump lost in 2024, including Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and David Valadao (R-CA), as well as swing district members like freshman Rep. Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), have also expressed concern over the bill due to medicaid cuts. They too joined the aforementioned Freedom Caucus members for the White House meeting, alongside a handful of additional potential holdouts.
Rep. Valadao, who was voted out after supporting Trump’s tax bill in 2018 before returning to Congress in 2021, has been viewed as one of the most likely defectors alongside Rep. Massie, whose opposition is guaranteed. Valadao, who also voted to impeach President Trump, stated on June 28 that he will not support the bill if the Senate made Medicaid cuts he deemed significant.
It is unclear whether he has changed his mind after meeting with the president.
