This morning, by the slimmest of margins, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” which includes funding for several key items of President Trump’s agenda.
It includes billions of dollars for border security, aggressive deportation efforts, and other national security priorities. States like Texas will receive $12 billion for their efforts to do the job of the federal government in securing the border under former President Biden’s watch.
There are strengthened work requirements for Medicaid recipients and reforms that ensure the program is targeted responsibly to the most vulnerable. It reverses so-called green energy tax breaks that distort the market and make reliable energy more expensive. And, most importantly, it perseveres the tax cuts passed in the first Trump administration.
It now moves on to the Senate, where there is expected to be many changes to the bill. Though the body is likely to pass the legislation, it may take most of the summer. But, the rules governing the budget reconciliation process only require that the bill pass with a majority of votes, avoiding a Senate’s filibuster.
The House is seen as having more budget hawks, so getting it through that chamber is a massive win for the president and Speaker Johnson. Many concessions were made to those hawks in the late hours of the morning, which ultimately earned the cautious support of members like Texas Rep. Chip Roy. “We made it better, but it needs more fiscal restraint,” he posted on his X account.
He’s right. Though the bill would cut nearly $2 trillion in spending over the next decade, the federal government is projected to spend $86 trillion over that same time. A cut is a cut, but it doesn’t fundamentally shift the country away having to make even more difficult decisions in the future.
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