GOP efforts to get the Big, Beautiful Bill passed

President Trump went to the House Republicans’ weekly closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill Tuesday, where he pushed the lawmakers to drop their reservations about the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which leaders hope to pass before the end of the week.

The president made it clear that he saw the bill as a test of loyalty to him, saying he had been a “cheerleader” for the party, and that any holdouts “wouldn’t be a Republican much longer,” according to The New York Times.

He told conservatives to end their effort to cut Medicaid further, told blue-state Republicans to stop pushing for a higher cap on state and local tax deductions, and urged the party to increase the country’s borrowing limit through the rest of his term, Roll Call reports.

But Trump’s visit did little to increase support for the bill, leaving leadership where they started the week, says Roll Call.

Republicans can afford to lose no more than three Republican votes and pass the bill.

The House Rules Committee has met at 1 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday to determine the process for debating and voting on the legislation on the House floor.

I’ve been listening to the committee’s deliberations while I’ve been working on this blog post. Some Democrats say the panel scheduled the hearing for 1 a.m. to hide how bad the legislation is from the American people.

Here is the opening statement of Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., addressing the hearing’s timing.