Trump latest news: Breakthrough as ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ set for floor vote after president rants ‘MAGA is not happy’

What you need to know…
- President Donald Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” is back in the House of Representatives for further consideration after narrowly passing the Senate on Tuesday.
- The Senate vote required a tie-breaking intervention from Vice President JD Vance after three Republican senators opposed the legislation, resulting in a 50-50 split.
- Trump’s extensive tax and spending bill is designed to boost defense and border security funding at the expense of welfare programs – and is forecast to add $3.3trn to the U.S. national debt.
- The president has expressed a desire for the bill to be signed into law by Friday July 4 to mark Independence Day, a deadline even Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has complained places too much artificial pressure on lawmakers.
- The House previously passed an earlier draft of the bill in May but it has since undergone major changes, leaving Republicans reluctant to fall in line and back it again in its present form.
- After a long night of haggling with the holdouts, the bill has now passed a key procedural vote, paving the way for a floor vote on Thursday morning.
Joe Sommerlad3 July 2025 08:55
Analysis: Hakeem Jeffries is good at this
Here’s The Independent’s Eric Garcia, still at it on Capitol Hill, on House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who is currently holding the floor with a brutal attack on Republicans for pushing through a tax and spending bill over which so many of them have profound objections:
“Right now, House Minority Leader is using the time allotted to party leaders to deliver a long speech criticizing the bill. Being in the minority in the House sort of sucks. Unlike in the Senate, which offers the minority the filibuster, or in the case of a vote-a-rama, the opportunity to offer unlimited amendments, the House has few tactics.
“His dress sneakers replaced the stilettos that former House speaker Nancy Pelosi often considered the best vote counter of her generation. Jeffries has yet to prove whether he can whip the votes for important legislation in the majority, since he came into power after Democrats lost the House.
“But one area where he’s decidedly much better is talking and communicating. Whereas Pelosi would sometimes make an off-the-cuff remark that would get her in trouble or that were ineloquent, Jeffries is frustratingly good at staying on message and annoying Republicans. A product of the Black Baptist church tradition in Brooklyn, he adopts the cadence of a preacher on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, here’s a few choice extracts of the New Yorker in action:
Joe Sommerlad3 July 2025 10:50
Republicans accused of folding ‘like cheap lawn chairs’
With the debate ongoing in the House ahead of the upcoming vote, anticipated later this morning, California Democratic Rep. Linda Sanchez got in this zinging line about GOP members like Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski who make a point of expressing their unhappiness with legislation like this and then vote for it anyway.
Here’s some more Democratic anger over the move the Republicans now look all but certain to make.
Joe Sommerlad3 July 2025 10:40
Johnson promises early vote will bring ‘happy surprise’ with morning coffee
Personally, I think I’d rather just stick to toast.
Joe Sommerlad3 July 2025 10:20
In pictures: Tired Republicans emerge from House chamber
This was the scene on Capitol Hill a short while ago.




Joe Sommerlad3 July 2025 10:05
‘What are you trying to prove???’
This is the last we heard from the president in the wee hours of the morning, berating his side on Truth Social for failing to fall in line behind his agenda, which, shortly after, they did.
Joe Sommerlad3 July 2025 09:45
Recap: Republicans pass key procedural hurdle after long night of talks to set up final floor vote
So, if you’re just joining us, following a day of closed-door meetings both on Capitol Hill and at the White House, lawmakers cleared a final procedural hurdle needed to begin debate on the bill in a 219-213 vote around 3.30am ET (8.30am GMT).
Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was the only resistor, with even Thomas Massie falling in line.
Lawmakers then reopened debate for a final vote that is expected around 5.30am or 6am approximately.
An earlier procedural vote was held open for seven hours on Wednesday, giving President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson time to convince holdouts to back the president’s signature bill.
Johnson had expressed optimism on Wednesday night, saying lawmakers had a “long, productive day” discussing the issues.
After the vote he praised Trump for making phone calls to the holdouts through the early hours of Thursday morning.
“There couldn’t be a more engaged and involved president,” Johnson told reporters.

Joe Sommerlad3 July 2025 09:25
Breaking: ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ clears procedural hurdle in the House
The rule vote has finally passed after a long night of haggling, meaning the president’s agenda can finally come to the House floor for a vote.
We’re now looking at an 8am ET (1pm GMT) start time for that to happen.
Speaker Johnson believes he has the votes to get the bill passed.
Joe Sommerlad3 July 2025 08:35
AOC blasts Trump’s bill as ‘a deal with the devil’ as she gives emotional floor speech trying to stop its passage
The House of Representatives returned to business on Wednesday to take up the Senate’s version of Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill.” In her speech, Ocasio-Cortez referred to one of Trump’s top campaign promises included in the legislation, no taxes on tips, as a “scam” as she referenced her own past work as a bartender.
Maroosha Muzaffar3 July 2025 08:30
Trump wants to use bill-signing as a photo-op for 4 July, Seth Magaziner says
With the fate of Trump’s sweeping tax and spending bill still in limbo, Democrats used procedural tactics to voice their opposition and slow down its path to a final vote in the House.
Democratic Representative Seth Magaziner criticised Republicans for backing a harmful bill, accusing them of abandoning their principles to satisfy Trump’s desire for a symbolic 4 July signing moment.
He told The New York Times: “When we say the Republican Party has turned into a cult, this is what we mean. Our Republican colleagues are pushing a bill that would throw their constituents under the bus, a bill that flies in the face of everything they claim to stand for, all because Donald Trump wants a bill-signing photo-op by the Fourth of July.”
Maroosha Muzaffar3 July 2025 08:00