Trump’s “Big, Beautiful” budget bill stalls as a major blow is dealt by Republican defections

Democrats and five Republicans blocked Trump’s tax-heavy package, citing concerns about the deficit and Medicaid cuts.

In Congress, five Republicans joined Democrats in voting against a crucial piece of legislation that President Donald Trump had referred to as his “big, beautiful bill,” leading to a significant loss.

The budget package was lost in a procedural vote on Friday. It includes the much-discussed “no tax on tips” policy and prolonged tax cuts from Trump’s first term. Trump’s domestic plan suffered a severe setback when five Republican legislators defected, expressing concerns over inadequate healthcare and budget cutbacks.

It is not necessary for the Republican Party to have “GRANDSTANDERS.” QUIT SPEECHING AND DO IT! Trump made his party an unapologetic plea in a post on Truth Social.

The vote represents Trump’s first major legislative setback of the year, while the plan is not completely dead. The five Republicans stated that unless the package included a complete repeal of Democratic green energy tax incentives and further Medicaid cuts, they would not support it.

Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, stated, “This bill is incredibly inadequate.” “It doesn’t accomplish what we claim it does in terms of deficits.”

Critics contend that the bill’s proposed extension of Trump’s first term’s massive tax cuts disproportionately benefits rich Americans. Democrats have expressed concern about the bill’s features that could deny millions of people access to affordable healthcare by reducing Medicaid and Affordable Care Act subsidies.

“Millions of Americans lost their access to healthcare because of no other bill, law, or incident. “Not even the Great Depression,” remarked Brendan Boyle, a Democrat from Pennsylvania.

Over the following ten years, the proposed tax cuts are expected to cost $3.72 trillion (£2.8 trillion), according to the impartial Joint Tax Committee.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is currently under increasing pressure from both sides of his party, with moderates concerned about jeopardizing important health programs during an election year and hard-line conservatives demanding more drastic expenditure cutbacks.

The Trump administration is rushing to mobilize support for a rewritten version of the measure, and negotiations are anticipated to continue throughout the weekend.