President Donald Trump notches the first major legislative victory of his second term in office after months of tumultuous negotiations on Capitol Hill.

The House passed the final version of the "big, beautiful bill" Thursday in a 218-214 vote after a tense overnight rules vote that was finalized just after 3:20 in the morning. The bill passed with 218 Republicans voting in favor of the legislation, while Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvaniajoined 212 Democrats and voted against the bill.

Leading up to the final vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) gave a record-breaking eight-hour, 44-minute speech on the House floor to stall the vote, even putting a fellow Democratic lawmaker to sleep. Vice President JD Vance joked in a post on X that a GOP rep texted him about how Jeffries' speech swayed his vote.

“I was undecided on the bill but then I watched Hakeem Jeffries [sic] performance and now I’m a firm yes."

"Democrats are focused on performing," Speaker Mike Johnson said ahead of the vote. "Republicans are focused on delivering."

Although the bill has been embraced by the president and the majority of the MAGA coalition, Massie and Fitzpatrick are not the only ones who took issue with the legislation.

'This Independence Day will mark the beginning of America's golden age.'

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Leading up to the vote, several House Republicans argued the Senate had "watered down" the bill beyond recognition. Conservatives were particularly concerned that the Senate did not properly address removing Biden-era green energy subsidies as well as limiting Medicaid access for criminal illegal aliens.

Other Republicans, Massie in particular, maintained that the spending levels in the bill are unsustainable.

"There’s no such thing as a tax relief without spending cuts," Massie said. "Gov’t can reduce the tax rate, but the spending still must be paid for. Gov’t must borrow money (which raises interest rates & requires more taxes later) or print money (which causes inflation). Both hurt Americans."

Many of these conservatives who had reservations over the bill met with the president at the White House on Wednesday morning leading up to the vote. In the end, Johnson managed to get the bill across the finish line with just a fewvotes to spare. Notably, Johnson passed the first version of the bill in the House with a 215-214 vote.

Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Vance had to cast the tiebreaking vote in the Senate on Tuesday after three Republican senators — Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted against the bill. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska was also a tough sell, calling it "one of the hardest votes" she has taken during her time in the Senate.

After a record-breaking 27-hour vote-a-rama, Murkowski came around and voted to pass the bill, although she said the "bill needs more work across chambers and is not ready for the President's desk."

Despite Murkowksi's plea to continue working on the legislation, the bill is headed right to the president's desk. Trump is expected to hold a signing ceremony at the White House on July 4.

"After years of failed policies, we stepped up to put Americans first and fulfilled our promises," Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas told Blaze News. "On July 4, 2025, we will return power to where it belongs — with the American people. This Independence Day will mark the beginning of America's golden age."

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Is the FBI salvageable? Here's what bureau insiders have to say

Americans sent a clear message to the swamp after President Donald Trump swept all seven swing states and secured the popular vote in November. Since then, the MAGA base was promised an administration staffed with change agents eager to uproot the political establishment in Washington, D.C.

The winning streak continued after Kash Patel was successfully confirmed to head the Federal Bureau of Investigation alongside Deputy Director Dan Bongino, both of whom have been allies to the president. Patel and Bongino also shared a common mission going into the FBI: The status quo isn't working.

'If you embarrass that community, you will be ostracized.'

Now five months into Patel's tenure, several former agents and FBI whistleblowers described how their optimism has faded into disappointment.

"Kash Patel and Dan Bongino both used to consistently call for dismantling the FBI, or at minimum, for a massive restructuring of it," one FBI whistleblower told Blaze News. "The latest revelations only bolster the position that the FBI has become a secret police organization. Yet, there has been no mention of the criminal charges against FBI employees involved in this gross miscarriage of truth and justice. There has been no mention whatsoever of any form of punishment for those involved."

Photo by Calla Kessler for the Washington Post via Getty Images

"Like most of the FBI's known corruption, cover-ups, and illegal activities in recent years, these revelations began with yet another whistleblower," he added. "Only then did the FBI 'leadership' discover how deep the corruption surrounding this election interference was. Still, no whistleblower has been vindicated, reinstated, promoted, or provided back pay and damages under the 'new' FBI."

Other whistleblowers like Marcus Allen share this sentiment, saying the bureau is beyond help.

"Attempts to salvage the FBI are a fool's errand," Allen told Blaze News. "Its reputation is damaged beyond repair. It has lost the public trust and proven itself to be an enemy of the American people and rightfully elected American governance."

Allen previously worked in the FBI's Charlotte field office before he was abruptly put on unpaid leave for challenging the official narrative surrounding the January 6 protests. After being branded a conspiracy theorist, Allen was eventually given his security clearance back by former President Joe Biden's administration and was awarded back pay as part of a settlement with the FBI. Allen later resigned from the bureau.

"They know when they have been abandoned," Steve Baker, investigative reporter for Blaze News, said. "When they speak out, that goes against the culture of the FBI. It goes against the intelligence community at large. If you embarrass that community, you will be ostracized."

Clint Brown, who worked closely alongside Patel during his Senate confirmation process, pushed back on critics, noting that Kash has been heading the bureau for only five short months.

“Kash is an extremely methodical person and very strategic,” Brown told Blaze News. “He is going to work through everything methodically and in the right way. Not everything is a narrative. Not everything has a quick fix. We’re living in the real world.”

"The former leadership may have tarnished it’s own reputation, but they’re the institution that exists to catch the bad guys, and they still have to do that while fixing the place," Brown added.

Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

While continuing to "catch the bad guys," Patel has also lead the popular crusade against former Director Christopher Wray, which many current and former agents have championed.

Patel announced Tuesday that the bureau uncovered evidence of Wray lying to Congress about China's involvement in influencing the 2020 election. These findings also detail how the agency "recalled" a report that contradicted Wray's testimony under oath to Congress denying China's involvement.

"There are a dozen other people that we could put in the perp walk parade," Baker told Blaze News. "But the guy that needs to lead the parade is Christopher Wray."

This evidence is just the latest piece of a larger puzzle implicating the former FBI leadership for working to influence the 2020 election. Whether it's coordinating with social media monopolies like Facebook to promote one party over the other or censoring the bombshell Hunter Biden laptop story, all signs suggest the FBI was involved.

"To date, this is unequivocally the worst example of FBI election interference," Steve Friend, another FBI whistleblower, told Blaze News. "The Steele dossier and censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop were abhorrent attempts to smear Donald Trump's reputation and deter voters from his camp. However, this latest revelation that the FBI covered for a foreign adversary to stuff ballots for Joe Biden strains all bounds of credulity and requires an honest conversation about whether the FBI should be dissolved."

"Disgraced FBI Deputy Director Paul Abbate knew this," Phil Kennedy, a whistleblower and former FBI agent, said in a post on X. "He was the executive who allegedly said, 'FBI employees who question the bureau's handling of January 6-related cases can seek employment elsewhere.' He helped hide the crime and then imprisoned Americans demanding answers."

Patel has also led a broader effort to decentralize D.C.'s influence in the bureau and empower local field offices to continue doing the day-to-day work that impacts communities.

“As far as reforms in the FBI, there’s been a restructuring in the organization, and it’s still ongoing," Brown told Blaze News. "Agents have been moved out to the field, and this is all part of reorganizing the FBI over the long term and doing it methodically.”

Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

While some former agents believe that the new leadership is a step in the right direction, other whistleblowers say the bureau remains unchanged, forever being driven by the status quo.

"The FBI has demonstrated an unwillingness and inability to understand the complexities of corruption within the FBI writ large and the simplicities of emergent national security and public safety threats," one whistleblower and former DHS employee told Blaze News.

"The new FBI deputy director has told Americans this is 'our FBI,'" Kyle Seraphin, another FBI whistleblower, told Blaze News. "It turns out, 'our FBI' is the same FBI it was last year: deceptive, duplicitous, and functioning on operational morality. The FBI serves the FBI, polishes the reputation of the FBI, and exists to prop up the legend of the FBI. Americans can see the results — promises without production, press releases instead of probable cause to arrest, and backroom document deals instead of disinfecting sunshine. The status quo is 'cutesy time,' and it is unquestionably continuing."

Although critics insist the culture remains unchanged, Brown says Patel was the right choice to push for a change. In order to successfully restore integrity to the bureau, Brown argues that Patel needs both time and trust from the rank-and-file agents.

"Kash is the guy that exposed the 'Russia, Russia, Russia' hoax," Brown told Blaze News. "He did it methodically, and the president knows that."

"The other thing is he picked the guy who’s going to relate to the brick agents," Brown added. "Trump’s philosophy, whether it’s FBI or DOD, he said the same thing about Pete Hegseth, is that he wants people who are doing the job to feel like they have a leader who understands them. So Kash has to earn trust within the FBI, while having to expose, methodically, while also having to catch bad guys, in order to reform the FBI. Without their trust, they’re not going to follow your leadership to fix things.”

The FBI did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

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Trump looks to rally Republicans as Senate takes up his 'big, beautiful bill'

Congress is back in session, and President Donald Trump has wasted no time lobbying lawmakers to pass his "big, beautiful bill" in the Senate.

House Republicans narrowly passed reconciliation by a 215-214 vote in May after weeks of negotiations that crescendoed with Trump's appearance on Capitol Hill to rein in remaining holdouts. After a dramatic saga on the House side, the bill was sent to the Senate, where it will inevitably be rewritten and returned to the House.

The Senate is now back in session with the hopes of sending the bill back by the July 4 deadline, but trouble is already beginning to emerge in the upper chamber.

'So many false statements are being made about 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.'

Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri was one of the first senators to draw a red line with respect to reconciliation. Hawley has repeatedly said that any cuts to Medicaid make him a "no" vote on the landmark legislation and has said the president backs his position.

"So many false statements are being made about 'THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,' but what nobody understands is that it's the single biggest Spending Cut in History, by far!" Trump said Monday. "But there will be NO CUTS to Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid.

"The only 'cutting' we will do is for Waste, Fraud, and Abuse, something that should have been done by the Incompetent, Radical Left Democrats for the last four years, but wasn’t," Trump added.

Although there haven't been any direct cuts to the program, House conservatives fought for amendments to the Medicaid work requirements that would weed out bad actors and ensure that only those eligible receive the benefits. These work requirements were integral in gaining support from fiscal conservatives, and any attempt to roll them back may cost Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) some votes.

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Fiscal conservatives on the Senate side are also giving Trump a hard time, particularly Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky.

Trump has likened Paul to Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky in public and in private, noting their refusal to vote for other spending bills in the past. Massie was one of the two "no" votes on the bill in the House, and Paul is expected to vote against it in the Senate.

"The math doesn't add up," Paul said Tuesday. "I'm not supporting a bill that increases the debt by $5T. I refuse to support maintaining Biden spending levels."

"Rand votes NO on everything, but never has any practical or constructive ideas," Trump said Tuesday. "His ideas are actually crazy (losers!). The people of Kentucky can’t stand him. This is a BIG GROWTH BILL!"

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

With reconciliation talks back in full swing on the Senate side, Trump has been keeping Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) at arm's length.

Thune can afford to lose only three votes on the bill due to the 53-seat majority Republicans secured in November. Thune has reiterated his goal to find more savings and to permanently extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act just as Trump has asked for, and he is pushing for the July 4 deadline.

"When the American people elected [Trump] and a Republican Congress last November, they expected us to deliver," Thune said Tuesday. "We’ve worked hard to deliver on our mandate, and we are not taking our foot off the gas."

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Elon Musk formally departs from DOGE following a tumultuous tenure

Elon Musk is officially stepping down from President Donald Trump's administration after 128 days of heading the Department of Government Efficiency.

Although his tenure was brief, Musk had his fair share of controversy and criticism from legacy media, even bucking the administration at times. Despite the dramatic saga, Musk was celebrated and commended by the administration and its allies after he announced his departure.

"As my scheduled time as a Special Government Employee comes to an end, I would like to thank President Donald Trump for the opportunity to reduce wasteful spending," Musk announced Wednesday night. "The DOGE mission will only strengthen over time as it becomes a way of life throughout the government."

'A grateful nation thanks you.'

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Whether it's outrage over the United States Agency for International Development or the scandal surrounding the teenage engineer formally known as "Big Balls" and all the subsequent trolling, the DOGE has been a constant fan for the flames of controversy. Most recently, Musk defied the administration and expressed disapproval over Trump's "big, beautiful bill," which barely passed the House last week.

Nevertheless, administration officials and MAGA allies praised Musk and his mission at the DOGE.

"The work DOGE has done to eliminate government waste and corruption — the rot embedded deep within Washington — is among the most valuable services ever rendered to government," White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller said. "And the work has only just begun."

(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"Thank you, Elon Musk," Turning Point USA CEO Charlie Kirk said. "A grateful nation thanks you. You changed the culture of the federal government for the better — an incredibly difficult feat — a legacy that will have ramifications for many, many administrations to come."

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White House works to send DOGE cuts package to Congress

Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

"Elon Musk and the entire DOGE team have done INCREDIBLE work exposing waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government — from the insanity of USAID's spending to finding over 12 million people on Social Security who were over 120 years old," Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday.

"The House is eager and ready to act on DOGE’s findings so we can deliver even more cuts to big government that President Trump wants and the American people demand," Johnson added.

Some of these programs include a $3 million grant to fund Iraqi "Sesame Street" through USAID, as well as another $3 million for circumcisions, vasectomies, and condoms in Zambia and $5.1 million toward the "resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer global movements" through the United States President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.

NPR and PBS also become a target of OMB's imminent rescission package because they have functionally served as left-wing outlets subsidized by taxpayers. NPR CEO Katherine Maher has previously referred to Trump as a "fascist" and a "deranged racist," while PBS has featured multiple programs glamorizing transgenderism, including one show about a trans-identifying man who "comes out to her old-school Ohio bowling league."

Photo by Allison Robbert-Pool/Getty Images

The Trump administration's latest push for Congress to get moving on DOGE cuts comes after Elon Musk himself expressed disappointment with the "big, beautiful bill." Musk cited concerns over spending, saying it "undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing."

Republican lawmakers like Rep. Thomas Massie and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky also seemed unimpressed by Congress so far. At the same time, BlazeTV host Matt Kibbe told Blaze News that there is still time to preserve the MAGA movement before the midterms.

"Losing Elon Musk and the DOGE wing of the Trump electoral coalition will be devastating to the GOP’s midterm prospects," Kibbe said. "But there’s still time."

"As Senator Rand Paul has been pointing out, all of the proposed DOGE cuts can be accomplished through expedited presidential rescission legislation, only requiring 51 votes in the Senate," Kibbe added. "Why not show us what savings can be accomplished before attempting to pass the 'big, beautiful bill,' which includes a $5 trillion increase in the debt limit and $350 billion in new spending?"

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Elon Musk takes jab at Trump’s 'big, beautiful, bill': 'I was disappointed'

President Donald Trump was working around the clock with House Republican leadership to secure enough votes for his "big, beautiful bill." After several overnight sessions and closed-door meetings, the bill passed the House last week with just one vote to spare.

Although many Trump allies championed the achievement, DOGE head Elon Musk expressed disappointment with the landmark legislation.

'I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful. But I don't know if it could be both.'

Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

In the days leading up to the vote, the fate of the bill was still unclear. Apart from spending hawks demanding deeper cuts and significant Medicaid reform, the SALT Caucus Republicans kept demanding a higher and higher cap for state and local tax deductions.

With several roadblocks in the way of the bill, Trump met with House Republicans multiple times both on the Hill and in the White House in an attempt to shepherd any defectors. The bill later passed in a 215-214 vote, with two Republicans voting against the bill, one voting present, and two not voting at all.

While most Republicans and Trump allies took a victory lap, Musk said he was "disappointed" by the bill.

"I was disappointed to see the massive spending bill, frankly, which increases the budget deficit, not just decrease it, and undermines the work that the DOGE team is doing," Musk said.

"I think a bill can be big, or it could be beautiful," Musk added. "But I don't know if it could be both."

'Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the big, beautiful bill where the House missed the moment.'

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Musk is not alone in his disappointment. Several House Republicans, like House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.), said the bill does not do enough to address federal spending. Notably, Harris was one of the conservative holdouts leading up to the vote and was the only Republican who voted present on the bill.

“I share Mr. Musk’s concerns about the short-term adverse effect on the federal deficit of the limited spending reductions in the BBB," Harris told Blaze News. "Debt markets remained concerned about U.S. total debt and annual deficits. Hopefully the Senate will take those concerns into consideration as the legislative process moves forward.”

Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio echoed Musk's concerns about spending, urging the Senate to deepen spending cuts. Davidson and Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky were the only two GOP members to vote against the bill.

"Hopefully, the Senate will succeed with the big, beautiful bill where the House missed the moment," Davidson said.

The bill is now on its way to the Senate, where lawmakers will inevitably rewrite major portions of the bill before punting it back over to the House before the proposed July 4 deadline.

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RFK's highly anticipated MAHA report paints dark picture of America's health crisis

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released his 68-page MAHA Commission report detailing the dark reality of America's health and how to fix it.

Kennedy's report highlights root causes of chronic diseases, obesity, autoimmune conditions, and behavior disorders in children. The report points to multiple culprits, including ultra-processed foods, exposure to chemicals like pesticides, and lack of exercise, as well as "overmedicalization." Underlying all of these issues, the report notes that corporate influence in medicine and health care has been one of the driving forces that has led to all of these problems.

"To turn the tide and better protect our children, the United States must act decisively," the report reads. "During this administration, we will begin reversing the childhood chronic disease crisis by confronting its root causes — not just its symptoms. This means pursuing truth, embracing science, and enacting pro-growth policies and innovations to restore children’s health. Today’s children are tomorrow’s workforce, caregivers, and leaders — we can no longer afford to ignore this crisis."

'This strategic realignment will ensure that all Americans — today and in the future — live longer, healthier lives.'

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

"After a century of costly and ineffective approaches, the federal government will lead a coordinated transformation of our food, health, and scientific systems," the report reads. "This strategic realignment will ensure that all Americans — today and in the future — live longer, healthier lives, supported by systems that prioritize prevention, well-being, and resilience."

The MAHA Commission, which was established by one of President Donald Trump's executive orders, was tasked with investigating the drivers of America's health epidemic.

The report found that as much as 70% of foods children consume contain ultra-processed ingredients and concluded that scientific funding for pharmaceutical, chemical, and food companies has contributed to rising chronic diseases.

Additionally, the report found that there's been a 1,400% increase in prescriptions for antidepressants in American children from 1987 to 2014, also known as "overmedicalization." The report also questioned the current childhood vaccine protocol and said that vaccines would benefit from a "more rigorous clinical trial" design.

Photo by Rebecca Noble/Getty Images

To address the many failures that have affected American children's health, the report also put forward a "gold standard" research initiative that includes nutrition trials, drug safety research, and large-scale lifestyle interventions.

"Some of the steps to implement these research initiatives are already underway and others will begin this in the near future," the report reads. "In parallel, the MAHA Commission will immediately begin working on developing the strategy to make our children healthy again — due in August 2025. We invite all of America, especially the private sector and academia, to be part of the solution."

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Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' narrowly passes the House, notching another win for Johnson

The House worked through the night to narrowly pass President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill" early Thursday morning after another tumultuous week on Capitol Hill.

The bill passed in a 215-214 vote, with one member, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-Md.), voting present. Republican Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio were the lone "no" votes on the bill, and Republican Reps. Andrew Garbarino of New York and David Schweikert of Arizona refrained from voting altogether.

The bill's passage has proven to be another impressive feat for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who dealt with uncertainty and skepticism within the Republican conference leading up to the vote.

'Once again, they have been proven wrong.'

🚨THE “BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL” HAS JUST PASSED THE HOUSE pic.twitter.com/Ae19tZgaQN
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) May 22, 2025

"The media and the Democrats have consistently dismissed any possibility of House Republicans succeeding in our mission to enact President Trump's America First agenda," Johnson said in a statement. "Once again, they have been proven wrong."

To the speaker's point, Johnson spent the last few weeks homing in on a balancing point that would eventually satisfy as many Republicans as he needed to get this bill passed. Fiscal hawks like Harris and Republican Rep. Chip Roy (Texas) fought for meaningful spending cuts, legitimate Medicaid reform, and eliminating IRA subsidies before they signed off on the bill. They even met with the president alongside HFC colleagues on Wednesday after Trump's Capitol Hill appearance failed to persuade them.

Johnson was also dealing with the SALT Caucus Republicans, who kept refusing overly generous offers to raise the cap on state and local deductions for their blue states. The SALT Caucus eventually accepted Johnson's offer to raise the cap to $40,000, which quadruples the current $10,000 cap.

Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Now that Republicans have successfully passed this bill before their ambitious Memorial Day deadline, it is up to the Senate to take up reconciliation.

"We look forward to the Senate's timely consideration of this once-in-a-generation legislation and stand ready to continue our work together to deliver the one big, beautiful bill to the president's desk," Johnson said in the statement.

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The Republicans who could derail reconciliation

Reconciliation talks are beginning to boil over as Republican factions begin attacking the "big, beautiful bill" from all angles.

Up until this week, critics have been relatively quiet about reconciliation while the majority of Republicans embraced the bill, meant to codify President Donald Trump's agenda.

To be clear, the bill does so to an extent. The tax policy is studded with pro-family provisions and includes the incredibly popular "no tax on tips" policy Trump floated during his campaign. There are Medicaid reforms intended to trim the fat and reduce fraud by enforcing work requirements. It even increases the endowment tax on elite universities like Harvard, subjecting the largest endowments to the 21% corporate rate.

But what was supposed to be the centerpiece in the Republican-led Congress has become a focal point for conflict, and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is doing what he can to plug as many leaks as possible.

'I understand that we have a thin majority, but we should deliver.'

Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Some defectors who have been the most difficult to please are the SALT Caucus, a bipartisan bunch pushing to eliminate the $10,000 cap on state and local tax deductions. The blue-state Republicans in the caucus, like Rep. Mike Lawler of New York, have been particularly stubborn during these closed-door negotiations.

During one of their many meetings this week, the members even threw out their colleague Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York because she supported the proposed $30,000 cap increase that came out of the Ways and Means Committee. Notably, Malliotakis is the only SALT Caucus member on the committee and therefore the only member with direct influence over tax policy, the very thing the SALT Caucus is trying to change.

Even after holding several meetings throughout the week, Johnson said that he will likely have to work through the weekend to strike a deal with SALT Caucus Republicans.

Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Predictably, Johnson is also facing an uphill battle against conservatives on Capitol Hill, most notably those on the Budget Committee. The committee is the last to hold a markup on Friday morning, which consists of piecing together all the reconciliation portions that have come out of the 11 House committees' markups.

There are no amendments allowed in the Budget Committee. They will simply vote to advance the bill in its entirety.

The problem is that several Republicans on the committee have already committed to voting against the bill's advancement. There are 21 Republicans and 15 Democrats on the House Budget Committee, meaning Republicans can afford to lose only two votes if they want to get the bill across with a simple majority. Yet among those 21 Republicans, four of them said they are willing to tank the bill.

Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas told Blaze News earlier in the week that he couldn't get behind the bill because it doesn't do enough to rein in spending and address fraud in the Medicaid system.

"It has to be amended," Roy told Blaze News. "I'm not going to be able to support it as it's currently drafted, and those amendments are going to need to be, you know, relatively significant."

"I didn't come here to perpetuate a broken system," Roy added. "I understand that we have a thin majority, but we should deliver."

Republican Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Andrew Clyde of Georgia, and Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma echoed Roy's concerns, saying they too intended to vote against the bill in committee.

Despite these naysayers, leadership is pushing on, with Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) saying he is confident the bill will pass committee on Friday.

"We did the hard work of setting real targets to restore fiscal sanity, and I’m confident we will have the votes in the Budget Committee tomorrow," Arrington said in a statement. "The Republican conference is working in good faith through a few scoring and policy clarifications. With something this big and beautiful, you’ve got to get it right."

If the bill manages to scrape by in the Budget Committee, it will be headed to the Rules Committee on Monday before eventually being put up for a vote on the floor before the Memorial Day target. Unlike the Budget Committee, the Rules Committee allows amendments, which Johnson, who has a historically narrow House majority, will likely need to make if he wants to get enough votes to pass the bill.

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Vance tells Glenn Beck Congress needs to 'get serious' about codifying DOGE cuts

While President Donald Trump greenlit a flurry of executive orders in the first 100 days of his second term, Congress has been struggling to keep up.

In the first few months of his presidency, only five bills from Congress have made it to Trump's desk and been signed into law. Meanwhile, Louisiana Republican Speaker Mike Johnson's "big, beautiful bill" has been the focal point of Capitol Hill drama with promises to codify the MAGA mandate Trump was overwhelmingly elected for.

Although the mandate is reflected in certain provisions in the bill, Vice President JD Vance himself said that Congress needs to do more to codify DOGE cuts and rein in spending.

'We're going to have to do it and get serious about it.'

.@VP Vance assures me major spending cuts are coming in the FINAL “Big, Beautiful Bill”:

“We’ve already had conversations with House leadership that we want to see some more significant efforts to rein in spending.”

“When I talk to @elonmusk and I talk to the DOGE folks, where… pic.twitter.com/CyyJRt1zZ4
— Glenn Beck (@glennbeck) May 15, 2025

"I will say the big, beautiful bill text just came out last week," Vance told Glenn Beck on "The Glenn Beck Program" Thursday. "That's going to change a lot from now until then. We've already had conversations with House leadership that we want to see some more significant efforts to rein in spending here."

"The president also believes, Glenn, and he's right about that, that if you cut the trade deficit or you raise revenue through tariffs, that you actually go a long way to making the country on a more sustainable fiscal pathway as well," Vance added. "But you're right. You can't do it without cutting domestic spending."

Up until this point, the United States has racked up over $36 trillion in national debt. Despite the desire from certain Republicans to actually control spending, Johnson's bill is expected to add roughly $3.3 trillion to the deficit through fiscal year 2034.

"We're going to have to do it and get serious about it," Vance told Beck. "We're making that as clear to congressional leaders as possible. But look, knock on wood here, I think that once we get the final package out of the House and the Senate, we're going to have something that's serious on budget-cutting."

Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Vance noted that one of the easiest ways to chip away at the nation's mounting debt is to begin by eliminating mismanaged spending and fraudulent benefits.

"What no one talks enough about, and when I talk to Elon, and I talk to the DOGE folks, where they think they're going to get the most cuts is in taking people, illegal aliens and other people, who are defrauding the Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security system," Vance added.

"Think about two people, right? A guy who's paid into Social Security for 40 years. Obviously we want that guy to get his Social Security benefits," Vance told Beck. "You compare that person to an illegal alien who's engaged in Medicaid fraud. Obviously we don't want that person to get their benefits."

Photo by Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

Medicaid reform has been a hot-button issue as reconciliation talks escalate. In its current state, the bill amended work requirements so that ineligible recipients would have a harder time defrauding the Medicaid system, protecting vulnerable people the service was intended for. Although this is a step in the right direction, some Republicans say it doesn't go far enough and have pointed out that the changes won't be enforced until 2029, after Trump has left office.

"I think Democrats are going to fight us on this, but this is such an important point," Vance added. "We cannot allow people to defraud the Medicare and Medicaid system, or it's going to bankrupt this country. It's also just fundamentally unfair."

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