Category: House

House narrowly passes Trump’s ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’ sending it to Senate

Chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX) speaks at a news conference after the House narrowly passed a bill forwarding President Donald Trump’s agenda at the U.S. Capitol on May 22, 2025 in Washington, DC.(Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
1:49 PM – Thursday, May 22, 2025

House Republicans passed President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill on Thursday morning, advancing it to the Senate — following an intense 48-hour effort to reconcile the priorities of fiscal conservatives and moderates from blue states.

The 215–214 vote allowed lawmakers to meet House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) target of securing passage before the Memorial Day recess. However, the bill now faces heightened uncertainty in the Senate, where some Republicans are pushing for deeper spending cuts while simultaneously seeking to maintain existing Medicaid provisions.

“My friends it quite literally is, again, morning in America,” Johnson said in a speech, right before the vote.

“This One Big Beautiful Bill is the most consequential legislation that any party has ever passed, certainly under a majority this thin,” he continued.

As far as GOP dissenters go, Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky voted against the motion — along with 212 other Democrats. Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who leads the House Freedom Caucus, simply voted “present.”

Harris and Texas Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) led a group of Freedom Caucus defectors who attempted to obstruct the package less than 24 hours before the final vote — forcing Trump to meet with them at the White House Wednesday afternoon.

According to Johnson, that prompted a few informal agreements on new executive actions or legislation as he returned to Capitol Hill.

“I voted to move the bill along in the process for the President. There is still a lot of work to be done in deficit reduction and ending waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid program,” Harris said on Thursday.

GOP holdouts rejected the bill for postponing Medicaid work rules until 2029 and preserving green-energy tax credits from the last Biden administration — according to the New York Post.

“It has massive deficits in the first five years because we’re not addressing the structural reform that we’re talking about right here,” Roy asserted, “including very specifically eliminating the 45% of the subsidies under the Green New Scam that continue.”

Blue-state Republicans, including New York Representative Mike Lawler, secured a last-minute agreement—reached just hours before the Freedom Caucus revolt—to raise the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap to $40,000 for individuals and $20,000 for married couples filing separately, provided their incomes do not exceed $500,000 and $250,000, respectively.

The final “Manager’s Amendment” incorporated this provision, while also accelerating the implementation of Medicaid work requirements to no later than December 31, 2026. It rescinded tax credits for wind, solar, and battery storage facilities that begin construction more than 60 days after the bill’s enactment, or to commence operations after December 31, 2028.

Johnson later noted that the GOP count would have reached 217 votes if Rep. David Schweikert (R-Ariz.) had not voted too early and Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) had not accidentally missed the vote—reportedly after “falling asleep” in the chamber.

“I’m going to just strangle him,” the House speaker said jokingly at a press conference after its passing. “But he’s my dear friend.”

Meanwhile, GOP Rep. Garbarino played a pivotal role in brokering the SALT-related compromise among Republicans, which raised the state and local tax deduction cap—a key concession for members from high-tax states—while also opposing certain green energy rollbacks championed by the Freedom Caucus.

The legislation approved on Thursday extends the 2017 Trump-era tax cuts and temporarily suspends taxes on qualified tips, overtime wages, and auto loan interest. However, it stops short of eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, instead offering seniors an enhanced deduction.

Additionally, the bill allocates several hundred billion dollars in increased funding for border security and national defense, while reclaiming portions of green energy subsidies enacted under former President Joe Biden. It also maintains the revised $40,000 SALT deduction cap, a provision critical for Republicans representing blue-state constituencies such as New York and California.

“’THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ has PASSED the House of Representatives!” Trump said in a Thursday Truth Social post.

“Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill! Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! There is no time to waste,” he continued.

“The Democrats have lost control of themselves, and are aimlessly wandering around, showing no confidence, grit, or determination,” he added. “They have forgotten their landslide loss in the Presidential Election, and are warped in the past, hoping someday to revive Open Borders for the World’s criminals to be able to pour into our Country, men to be able to play in women’s sports, and transgender for everybody. They don’t realize that these things, and so many more like them, will NEVER AGAIN happen!”

Johnson also seized the opportunity to tout his legislative win while responding pointedly to his critics — among them House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who used his allotted “magic minute” on the floor to criticize the bill’s tax breaks and other spending reductions.

The GOP Speaker praised Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.), lauding her as the “Iron Lady” of the House Republican conference for her firm leadership in managing the deluge of Democrat amendments aimed at delaying the bill’s progress to the floor.

Other significant provisions of the bill:

  • Raising the cap on the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction to $20,000 for married individuals filing separately (subject to a $250,000 income threshold) and to $40,000 for all other filers (with a $500,000 income cap).
  • Increasing the federal debt ceiling by $4 trillion.
  • Allocating $175 billion for border security, including $46.5 billion specifically earmarked for the construction of a wall along the U.S.–Mexico border.
  • Appropriating an additional $150 billion for national defense, with specific allocations including $25 billion for President Trump’s proposed “Golden Dome” missile defense system, $34 billion to enhance naval capabilities and shipbuilding, $21 billion to replenish the nation’s ammunition reserves, and $5 billion dedicated to border enforcement.
  • Instituting a monthly 80-hour work requirement — which may include employment, volunteer service, or education — for able-bodied adults aged 19 to 64 as a condition for Medicaid eligibility.
  • Expanding Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) work requirements to include able-bodied, childless adults up to age 64.
  • Establishing an expedited permitting process for natural gas projects, contingent upon applicants contributing either 1% of the project’s total cost or $10 million, whichever is less.
  • Repealing the Biden-era directive mandating that two-thirds of new vehicle sales be electric by 2032.
  • Introducing federally backed “Trump” savings accounts for children born between January 1, 2025, and January 1, 2029, with an initial government contribution of $1,000 per account.

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House Republicans Approve Bill Requiring Proof Of Citizenship To Vote

A voter uses a ballot drop box at the Bucks County Administration building voting on demand and ballot drop center in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP) (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)
A voter uses a ballot drop box at the Bucks County Administration building voting on demand and ballot drop center in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, on October 31, 2024. (Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images)

OAN Staff James Meyers
11:40 AM – Thursday, April 10, 2025

For the second time, House Republicans have passed a bill that would require voters to show proof of citizenship in order to vote in federal elections. A previous attempt was blocked by the then-Democrat-led Senate.

The bill, titled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, was passed in a 220-208 vote.

It is meant to prevent non-citizens from voting.

The vote included four Democrat representatives who sided with Republicans: Representatives Ed Case of Hawaii, Henry Cuellar of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington.

The bill requires applicants to present documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a valid passport, a birth certificate, or other forms of identification that prove an individual is a U.S. citizen.

Republican Representative Chip Roy (R-Texas), who introduced the bill, said Thursday “there’s nothing controversial about saying that you should be able to ensure that only citizens vote.”

“There is nothing more sacred under the Constitution than ensuring that the people are able to have a voice in the election of the people that represent them in Washington and throughout the country,” Roy said.

“Once that is undermined, then people lose faith in the very institutions upon which this is built. This legislation is designed to restore that faith, to save our elections, to save election integrity.”

Meanwhile, Democrats have tried to argue that the bill will make it tougher for Americans to vote.

Rep. Joseph Morelle (D-N.Y.) claimed that senior citizens are especially unlikely to have the required documents, and that “even a military ID” would not qualify as acceptable documentation under the act.

“Republicans would force Americans into a paperwork nightmare, burying voter registration under a mountain of bureaucracy and red tape,” he said.

“Under the SAVE Act, most Americans would be unable to register to vote using their Real ID. Further, under the SAVE Act, nearly 70 million American women will be unable to register to vote using their birth certificate simply because they changed their name upon marriage,” he added.

“And the SAVE Act will also have a steep financial cost to American citizens, because, yes, the SAVE Act does allow Americans to use their passports to register to vote. But half of all Americans do not have a passport, and a passport costs $130.”

Last year, Republicans first introduced the bill, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) saying that while it’s time consuming and difficult to prove that illegal aliens are voting in U.S. elections, it’s something both parties “intuitively” know is happening.

Additionally, in many Democrat-led states, such as California, you’re generally not required to show any identification to vote.

“We all know, intuitively, that a lot of illegals are voting in federal elections. But it’s not been something that is easily provable. We don’t have that number. This legislation will allow us to do exactly that — it will prevent that from happening. And if someone tries to do it, it will now be unlawful within the states,” Johnson said last May.

After being previously blocked by the Democrat-controlled Senate, the bill may have a renewed chance of gaining approval this time around.

The bill should be received more favorably under the GOP majority, especially as it has been championed by President Donald Trump. However, it would still likely need to overcome a Democrat filibuster.

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House Passes Laken Riley Act, Delivering First Legislative Victory To Trump

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 23: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) signs the Laken Riley Act during an enrollment ceremony with members of the Georgia delegation in the Speaker's ceremonial office at the U.S. Capitol on January 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Named after a young nursing student in Georgia who was murdered by a Venezuelan man, the Laken Riley Act requires the detainment of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes and it will be the first legislation that President Donald Trump will sign during his second term in office. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) signs the Laken Riley Act during an enrollment ceremony with members of the Georgia delegation in the Speaker’s ceremonial office at the U.S. Capitol on January 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. Named after a young nursing student in Georgia who was murdered by a Venezuelan man, the Laken Riley Act requires the detainment of unauthorized immigrants accused of theft and violent crimes and it will be the first legislation that President Donald Trump will sign during his second term in office. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
12:10 PM – Thursday, January 23, 2025

The Laken Riley Act, an immigration detention measure named after 22-year-old Georgia nursing school student Laken Riley, who was brutally murdered by an illegal alien from Venezuela last year, was enacted by the Republican-led House on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump is anticipated to sign the legislation into law this week after his return to the White House. Its goal is to crack down on illegal immigrants who commit nonviolent offenses such as theft, as well as ultimately inhibit violent and heinous crimes committed by illegals such as rape, assault, and murder.

All Republicans backed the motion, with 46 Democrats joining in. With 12 Democrat votes, the bill was approved by the Senate on Monday by a vote of 64-35.

A 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela named Jose Ibarra was convicted in November of kidnapping, assaulting, and murdering Riley as she was out on a run close to the University of Georgia campus in Athens. Police noted that when Riley’s body was found, her shirt had been pulled all the way up — and it was clear that he had attempted to sexually assault her at some point before or after her death.

Riley even tried to call 9-1-1 during the attack, but the only voice that the emergency operator heard was that of Ibarra. One of the charges against Ibarra is obstructing or hindering a person making an emergency telephone call, according to FOX Carolina.

Ibarra received a life sentence without the possibility of release.

Republicans and President Trump have highlighted how Ibarra was not placed under arrest after initially being detained by a Georgia police department for shoplifting, in addition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement not issuing a detainer for him.

The politician responsible for drafting the measure, Representative Mike Collins (R-Ga.), explained that ICE must now take custody of and detain illegal aliens who are charged, arrested, or found guilty of “burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting.”

“It’s bittersweet,” Collins said following the vote, noting that he had spoken to Riley’s relatives earlier that day. “For a young lady that wanted to dedicate her career and her life to saving lives, now her name will live on forever, and it will save lives.”

48 Democrats supported a previous version of the bill, which was approved by the House by a vote of 264-159. However, former President Joe Biden never expressed whether he backed the bill, which was enacted by the GOP-controlled House last year but later disregarded by the Democrat-led Senate.

“You now have a willing partner in the Senate that wants to confront real problems facing families, so that we don’t have more Lakens Rileys,” stated House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.). “You don’t have more murders of innocent people because of an open border. President Trump has already taken action to start reversing that open border,” he added.

Two amendments, one from Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), which includes assault of a police officer, and another from Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), which includes acts that cause death or bodily harm to an individual, were also adopted by the Senate in order to expand the list of actions that result in mandatory detention of illegal aliens.

The Laken Riley Act’s passage coincides with a contentious discussion among Democrats over how to address Trump’s intentions for mass deportations and the illegal immigration crisis following their crushing 2024 election loss. Additionally, the Laken Riley Act’s only opponents were Democrats who tried to argue that the measure was overly harsh.

“Laken Riley casts out a net to cuff, arrest, and deport people who have committed minor offenses. In that sense, it is not a good thing,” said Representative Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.), the new chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

“Any discussion that should be had here around the issue of border security, around the issue of immigration,” he added, “should include something on Dreamers, farm workers, and families.”

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Musk, Ramaswamy And Republican Officials Urge House GOP To Kill Johnson’s Federal Funding Bill

(Left-center) U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks to reporters. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) / (R-top) Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) / (R-middle) Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Co-Chair of the newly announced Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) / (R-bottom) U.S. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) arrives for the Senate Republican leadership elections at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
3:32 PM – Wednesday, December 18, 2024

The new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) leaders in Trump’s incoming administration, Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk, blasted House GOP leadership on Wednesday, actively urging Republicans to kill a controversial stopgap measure to prevent a government shutdown.

“This bill should not pass,” Musk posted on his X platform.

“Ever seen a bigger piece of pork?” Musk continued, referencing an image showing the legislative text.

Ramaswamy also chimed in and explained why the new measure is unfavorable in his eyes.

“It’s full of excessive spending, special interest giveaways & pork barrel politics. If Congress wants to get serious about government efficiency, they should VOTE NO,” Ramaswamy posted on X.

“Congress has known about this deadline since they created it in late September. There’s no reason why this couldn’t have gone through the standard process, instead of being rushed to a vote right before Congressmen want to go home for the holidays. The urgency is 100% manufactured.”

Meanwhile, Johnson (R-La.) suggested that the two DOGE leaders should take into account his difficult predicament, even though both Musk and Ramaswamy chairs have widely criticized the spending patch that leadership revealed on Tuesday night.

“I was communicating with Elon last night. Elon and Vivek and I are on a text chain together, and I was explaining to them the background of this,” Johnson said on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday regarding the controversial new measure.

“Vivek and I talked last night at almost midnight, and he said, 'Look, I get it. We understand you’re in an impossible position. Everybody knows that,’” Johnson claimed.

The government will shut down Friday night unless congressional leaders act to stop a lapse. The new resolution on Tuesday would provide government funding through March 14th, 2025.

However, the 1,547-page continuing resolution (CR) is reportedly jam-packed with a variety of add-ons, including $100 billion for disaster relief, a one-year extension of the farm bill, up to $2 billion for the reconstruction of Maryland’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, which collapsed earlier this year after a cargo ship collided with it, and $10 billion for farmer assistance.

Additionally, Breitbart News reported that “The (CR) released Tuesday night — negotiated on the GOP side by Johnson — includes tens of billions of dollars in waste and includes funding for controversial items, including a pay raise for members of Congress as well as a one-year extension of the State Department’s Global Engagement Center (GEC), which funds organizations that censor conservative media.”

 GOP officials continued to post their thoughts on the new CR.

Republicans are openly opposing Johnson’s efforts, accusing him of trying to push the bill through before the 118th Congress ends and lawmakers go home for the holidays.

The measure has angered a slew of Republicans, especially Kentucky Senator Rand Paul and Missouri Senator Josh Hawley, who argue that it should have been a clean CR and that many of the additional provisions should be discussed separately.

Legislators have also complained that they were not given enough time to read the lengthy document.

Johnson has been courting Musk and Ramaswamy since the 2024 election. Earlier this month, he invited them to the U.S. Capitol for talks with senators, he mingled with them both at Mar-a-Lago and again during one of President-elect Donald Trump’s UFC appearances.

“Remember, guys, we still have just a razor-thin margin of Republicans,” Johnson continued on “Fox & Friends.” “So any bill has to have Democrat votes. They understand the situation. They said, ‘It’s not directed at you, Mr. Speaker, but we don’t like the spending.’”

“We got to get this done because here’s the key: By doing this, we are clearing the decks and we are setting up for Trump to come roaring back with [the] America First agenda,” Johnson added.

At the beginning of next year, Congress will have a busy schedule as it must balance Trump’s plans with the unfinished business of federal funding for fiscal year 2025 before moving on to fiscal year 2026, which is due on October 1st, 2025.

Soon after the news broke, Trump logged on to his Truth Social platform and explained his thoughts on the matter.

“Congress is considering a spending bill that would give sweetheart provisions to government censors and for Liz Cheney. This bill would make it easier to hide the records of the corrupt January 6 committee—which accomplished nothing for the American people and hid the security failures that happened that day. The bill would also give Congress a pay increase while many Americans are struggling this Christmas. Increasing the debt ceiling is not great, but we’d rather do it on Biden’s watch. If Democrats won’t cooperate on the debt ceiling now, what makes anyone think they would do it in June during our administration? Let’s have this debate now. We should pass a streamlined spending bill that doesn’t give Chuck Schumer and the Democrats everything they want. Republicans want to support our farmers, pay for disaster relief, and set our country up for success in 2025. The only way to do that is with a temporary funding bill WITHOUT DEMOCRAT GIVEAWAYS combined with an increase in the debt ceiling. Anything else is a betrayal of our country,” Trump stated.

 

 

 

 

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House Unanimously Passes Bill To Increase Trump’s Security After Second Assassination Attempt

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 19: Republican presidential nominee former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Israeli American Council National Summit at the Washington Hilton on September 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. Trump addressed the pro-Israel conference, stating that if he is not elected president Israel will be “eradicated” within two years. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Republican presidential nominee former U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the Israeli American Council National Summit at the Washington Hilton on September 19, 2024 in Washington, DC. Trump addressed the pro-Israel conference, stating that if he is not elected president, Israel will be “eradicated” within two years. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

OAN Staff James Meyers
9:24 AM – Friday, September 20, 2024

SEE: https://www.oann.com/newsroom/house-unanimously-passes-bill-to-increase-trumps-security-after-second-assassination-attempt/; republished below in full, unedited, for informational, educational, & research purposes:

The House unanimously passed a bill on Friday that would increase Secret Service protections for the two parties’ presidential nominees and their vice presidential running mates. 

The vote came in at 405-0, just five days after the second assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump when Ryan Wesley Routh purportedly camped outside Trump’s West Palm Beach golf club for nearly 12 hours. 

A security team conducting a screening of the holes Trump was approaching spotted Routh and fired shots at him, who fled the scene and was later arrested by local authorities. 

This was the second attempt on Trump’s life within 60 days. In July, a gunman opened fire at the former president’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, piercing Trump’s ear and leaving him bloodied on stage. 

“President Biden made it clear that he wanted the highest levels of protection for former President Trump and for Vice President Harris. Secret Service moved to sustain increases in assets and the level of protection … and those things were in place yesterday,” acting Secret Service Director Ronald Rowe told reporters Monday.

“The President is aware that he has the highest levels of protection that the Secret Service is providing him. …There’s a lot of tactical assets in place, things that have been put in place as a result of what happened 60 days ago. "Those elements are working,” he added.

The bill will now be sent to the Senate for consideration, but it’s unclear how the upper chamber will handle the issue of security. Meanwhile, lawmakers from both chambers are discussing whether to include additional funding for the Secret Service in the stopgap funding bill Congress must pass by September 30th to avoid a government shutdown. 

Additionally, Senator Rick Scott (R-Fla.) rolled out a companion bill to the one passed by the House on Friday. 

“Over the course of just 65 days, two deranged individuals have tried to kill President Donald Trump, and one was able to shoot him in the head,” Scott said in a statement. “It is unthinkable that this could happen in America today, and it demands the immediate action of Congress.”

Currently, Trump has the same counter surveillance and counter sniper teams given to sitting presidents, along with protective intelligence and drone teams. 

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FBI Director Faces House Committee on Trump Assassination Attempt – LIVE Breaking News Coverage

FBI Director Christopher Wray will be questioned by the House Judiciary Committee today about the FBI investigation into the Trump assassination attempt. Join us for live coverage of FBI Director Wray’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee about the attempted assassination of former President Trump. According to the House Judiciary Committee, today’s hearing with FBI Director Wray, called "Oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation," will “examine the FBI’s investigation into the assassination attempt against President Trump” as well as other topics. In this interactive live stream, host Steve Lookner brings you live coverage of the House Judiciary Committee hearing where they question FBI Director Wray about the Trump assassination attempted investigation, and he’ll also read your comments and questions on the air!

VIDEO IS 3 HOURS, 58+ MINUTES

VIDEO BELOW: 34 MINUTES; 35 SECONDS

FBI Director Chris Wray Reveals New Information About Weapons Used By Trump Shooter

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