The House could vote on the GOP’s “big, beautiful bill” as early as Wednesday morning, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer’s (R-Minn.) office announced Sunday, officially notifying members that they will have to return to Washington, D.C., to vote on the megabill.
The beacon came as Senate Republicans were racing to pass the sprawling tax cuts and spending package, with GOP leaders hoping to send President Trump the measure by their self-imposed July 4 deadline. Once the Senate approves the bill, the House has to give it a final stamp of approval.
“Members are advised that votes are now expected in the House as early as 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, July 2. Please stay tuned to future updates for additional information regarding this week’s schedule. This is a change from the previously announced schedule,” the whip’s office wrote in a notice Sunday night.
The House was scheduled to be on recess this week for July 4.
If the Senate clears the legislation and sends it across the Capitol, the measure will first head to the House Rules Committee, where the panel will hold a vote to set parameters for debate. Then, the entire chamber will have to adopt a procedural rule for the legislation — which could happen as early as Wednesday morning — followed by general debate and a final passage vote.
It remains unclear when the House will get its hands on the package.
The Senate is scheduled to begin what is known as a vote-a-rama Monday morning at 9 a.m., giving senators in both parties an opportunity to introduce and vote on an unlimited number of amendments to the package. It remains unclear when the process will wrap up. Afterward, the chamber will hold a final passage vote.
It is not yet certain that the legislation will have enough support to clear the upper chamber. Moderate Republicans have raised concerns about cuts to Medicaid, and conservatives have gripes about the level of spending cuts, prompting uncertainty about the measure’s odds in the Senate. The bill, however, could change during the vote-a-rama process to shore up support.
Senate Republicans can only lose three members and still clear the package, assuming full attendance and united Democratic opposition.
The dynamics are similar in the House, where at least six moderate Republicans have said they will not support the bill in its current form, The Hill has learned, because of Medicaid language and the rollback of green-energy tax credits, among other provisions. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), one of the two Republicans to vote against the House version of the bill last month, is also expected to vote against the bill, bringing the current number of opponents to seven.
House Republicans can also only lose three of their own members and still pass the bill if there is full attendance and all Democrats vote “no.”
