The House nears final vote on Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ as opponents flip

The House of Representatives is barreling toward a final vote on President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” with Republicans increasingly likely to send a massive piece of legislation that will be felt across the economy for years to come to the president’s desk.

Approval is far assured but White House and Republican leaders inched closer to victory Thursday morning after a pressure campaign and yet another all-night session on Capitol Hill appeared to satisfy Republican holdouts concerned about things like the multi-trillion dollar price tag and health care cuts.

The vote timing is uncertain with Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries holding the House floor for over three hours Thursday morning in a speech that lambasted the bill on varied fronts — including at one point calling it a “crime scene.”

Read more: Taxes, energy, and healthcare: 3 ways Senate’s Trump megabill impacts the business world

Yet a vote is expected within hours and House Speaker Mike Johnson projected confidence earlier in the morning as legislators on his side of the aisle race to give the president a signature political victory and approve the bill before his self-imposed July 4 deadline.

“We have the votes,” Johnson told reporters at about 3 a.m. ET.

Johnson then secured a procedural victory as the House voted 219-213 a few minutes later to begin formal debate on the measure with only one Republican — Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania — voting no.

What appears to have moved many of these recalcitrant lawmakers into the yes column was not any changes to the bill itself — this today’s vote is set to include zero changes to the 870-page bill that passed the Senate earlier this week — but with promises of things like executive actions to address their concerns.

As for Trump, the final vote couldn’t come soon enough with the president posting at about midnight “What are the Republicans waiting for???”

Major changes — and a giant price tag

The early morning back and forth was just the latest twist in days of negotiations over a reconciliation package set to reshape wide swathes of the US economy — especially in areas of taxes, energy, and healthcare.

The package also includes a $5 trillion debt ceiling increase and is projected to unleash new borrowing that will lead the US national debt to surpass $40 trillion in the coming years.

Economists have likewise noted the final price tag, which could lead to $4 trillion in new debt over the coming decade, and critiqued an accounting gimmick Republicans employed to hide much of that red ink.

It’s a bill also set to be felt in American pocketbooks with provisions that include new credits like no taxes on some tips, cuts to student loans and the Pell Grant program, an increase in state tax deductions, and a range of pother provisions even so-called MAGA accounts for young children.

The process proved exceptionally contentious in recent days, largely over the healthcare portion of the bill which appear set to extract hundreds of billions in government savings but cause millions to lose their coverage.

Clean energy was another key last minute flashpoint with Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk perhaps the loudest voice in opposition there.

That portion of the bill saw provisions being added and subtracted in rapid succession during the Senate debate (which sent solar stocks gyrating).

That portion of the bill ended with a final product that didn’t include at least one of the harshest ideas but is nevertheless set to have the US government move away from any significant role in renewable energy in the years ahead.

A first step there will be felt quickly with a plan to eliminate electric vehicle credits on September 30 of this year.

A growing focus on selling the bill

Democrats for their part promised to make the bill a political albatross for Republicans even before it passed and have signaled plans to talk nonstop about the package between now and next year’s midterm election.

“Don’t ever lecture us about fiscal responsibility: Not now, not ever,” Jeffries said in his Thursday morning speech.

In particular focus are expected to be the healthcare provisions that — according to an accounting from the Congressional Budget Office that came in over the weekend — could cause 11.8 million additional Americans to become uninsured by 2034.

A series of polls has also shown declines in the overall public support for the bill as the focus on healthcare has intensified. Even a recent Fox News national poll found a 21-point gap between those who say they are opposed (59%) and those who say they are in favor (38%).

The unified Democratic opposition also comes as Republicans clearly have mixed feelings on the bill with some of the health care cuts.

Some Republicans continue to slam that portion as of the bill as too politically painful. Meanwhile, some of their colleagues look at the exact same provisions and say the cuts are not deep enough to improve the fiscal situation.

In just one example of Republican tensions, GOP Rep. Keith Self of Texas posted Wednesday just hours before voting began that the bill was “morally and fiscally bankrupt” before voting early Thursday morning to proceed to a final vote.

This story has been updated with additional developments.

Ben Werschkul is a Washington correspondent for Yahoo Finance.

Click here for political news related to business and money policies that will shape tomorrow’s stock prices

Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance