House Republicans are irked at changes being made to the so-called “Big Beautiful Bill” in the Senate.
The bill passed the fractious House by one vote to advance to the Senate, where the whims of members and the rulings of its parliamentarian have changed the bill significantly.
Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough has put her stamp on the bill by saying, some of the items the House tossed in, such as banning illegal aliens from enrolling in Medicaid, are not strictly budget items.
A provision in the House bill allowing residents of high-tax states to claim state and local taxes as federal income tax deductions was watered down by the Senate, according to Axios.
Republican Rep. Nick LaLota of New York called the change “insulting and disgusting.”
“They need to get real in what they present us, or this bill ain’t ever going to happen,” he said.
Because the Senate seeks to pass the bill using what’s called the Byrd Rule, everything in it has to relate to budget consideration. That allows Republicans to pass the bill with a simple majority, rather than the usual 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
As the Senate adapts their work, House Republicans are getting antsy,
Senate Majority Leader John Thune “needs to honor the deal and find the savings and make math work,” Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas said.
Will this bill be passed by July 4?
The Senate should stop hiding behind the parliamentarian to protect swamp interests. Use the majority. Lead.
The House Bill was baseline with room to improve. No going backwards. pic.twitter.com/LIovkWUJ4D
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) June 27, 2025
Others said too many revisions would be met with votes against the bill.
“We got that commitment from Thune. We got that commitment from the White House,” Republican Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri said. “Hopefully … they know that anything that doesn’t really meet that, we mean it when we say, it’s not going to fly in the House.”
Republican Rep. Lloyd Smucker of Pennsylvania said, he was “willing to accept a lot of changes to the bill,” but if the Senate warps the agreed-upon-framework out of shape, “I won’t be voting for it, and I think there’s a lot of others.”
Others noted that venting and voting can be very different.
“There are concerns with the changes that they have made [in the Senate]. … I don’t think we’re just going to roll-over,” Republican Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas said.
Nehls noted that President Donald Trump, who got the ball rolling on the bill, has a lot to say over what comes next.
“If Trump calls me and says you’ve got to pass the ‘Big Beautiful Bill,’ we’ve got to do it,” he said.
For his part, Thune said the parliamentarian’s ruling was a speed bump to navigate, according to The Hill.
“We have contingency plans, plan B, plan C,” he said Thursday.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
