This piece has been updated, including with a statement from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt as well as an update about the big, bill passing the House Rules Committee.
On Wednesday afternoon, President Donald Trump met with members of the House Freedom Caucus (HFC) in order to solidify support for the "one big, beautiful bill" that the White House is looking to get passed. There's a particular kind of urgency, given that the White House and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) want a vote to happen before the Memorial Day weekend holiday. According to reporting from POLITICO, members of the speaker's leadership team "believe they will be able to force through a procedural vote and final passage of the megabill, with potentially three defections."
Several hours after that meeting, and almost 24-hours after the House Rules Committee first conveyed at 1:00am on Wednesday morning, the Committee passed the big, beautiful bill with a vote of 8-4. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), a vocal member of the HFC, was notably absent from the final vote.
House Rules Cmte votes 8-4 to send updated Big, Beautiful Bill to the floor. GOP TX Rep Roy was absent. House must now adopt the "rule" to actually put the bill itself on the floor. That debate will come in the overnight. And then the vote on the rule. If they clear that hurdle,…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 22, 2025
It does not appear that there a press gaggle took place after the meeting with Trump and HFC members, though the Trump White House did issue a statement. "The meeting was productive and moved the ball in the right direction. The President reiterated how critical it is for the country to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill as quickly as possible," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement for Townhall.
According to CNN's Manu Raju, who mentioned changes to the bill, Johnson and his team still remain optimistic.
"The speaker and his team are confident their factions will fall and bill will pass by tomorrow AM," his post mentioned, speaking about a potential Thursday morning vote.
House GOP leaders release 42 pages of changes to Trump’s domestic policy bill, reflecting deal-cutting Johnson made to try to secure the votes on the bill. The speaker and his team are confident their factions will fall and bill will pass by tomorrow AMhttps://t.co/W0zXusMLpk
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) May 22, 2025
Johnson was also sharing he was "very optimistic" earlier in the day about the bill, per a post from Fox News' Chad Pergram shared around the same time that HFC members and Trump were meeting. Also around that same time, Pergram shared his video report.
Johnson on White House mtg on Big, Beautiful Bill: When you have a small margin and you got about a three vote majority which is what you've got that margin. You have to work with every member and hear their concerns and work with them and try to. Try to meet the equilibrium…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 21, 2025
Why the GOP wants to vote on the Big, Beautiful Bill tonight. And how they potentially lose yes votes the longer this sits out there. https://t.co/qXCj4dWbFp
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 21, 2025
The clip included comments from Roy, who made clear that he would work with his colleagues and the president, "to deliver but there's a long way to go," stressing, "we've got to deliver on what we're talking about or we're not going to be able to get the bill done." During "The Story with Martha MacCallum," host Martha MacCallum spoke about a desire for the HFC to see cuts made. That being said, Trump has indicated to members, "don't f**k around with Medicaid." The bill also looks to cut $1.5 trillion in federal spending cuts and expand the Trump tax cuts from 2017.
Pergram phrased the latest moves as "a pressure campaign to prod reluctant members to get in line," with the White House framing it as "the ultimate betrayal" if it doesn't pass, and with Trump wanting to sign this specific version.
Pergram also later spoke to how House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) has explained such a timeline, though he can't say for certain when exactly the vote will be just yet, though he still sounded confident.
From colleague Kelly Phares. Manager's amendment to make changes to the big, beautiful bill coming out soon. GOP will finish in the Rules Cmte tonight and decide whether to vote later tonight or tomorrow.
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 21, 2025
Scalise: Were going to vote on the bill, or we're going to vote on the rule. Then go into straight into debate. Then vote on the bill all tonight. I can't tell you what time because, you know, there's a lot of unlimited debate that's involved. But we're going to keep moving this…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 21, 2025
Wednesday's meeting comes as Trump met with HFC members on Tuesday night, with indications that there had been some progress, though more was still needed to reach a deal.
The president had also been on Capitol Hill earlier on Tuesday to push Republicans to unify in supporting the bill.
WH on talks with Freedom Caucus: There was no deal. The White House presented HFC with policy options that the Administration can live with, provided they can get the votes, but they cannot get the votes. There was no deal. The HFC will meet with the President at 3pm to hopefully…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) May 21, 2025
HFC Chair Andy Harris and Rep. Roy at presser says they’ve made progress on the bill, citing the “clear” terms they say President Trump laid out pic.twitter.com/yiYSGNyLUh
— Olivia Beavers (@Olivia_Beavers) May 21, 2025
As POLITICO also mentioned on the timing:
Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who leads the House Freedom Caucus, said the holdouts had “accepted the White House’s offer last night,” referring to a handshake deal to speed up Medicaid work requirements and the phase-out of Inflation Reduction Act tax credits, but then said their concerns had been “inadequately” addressed by House GOP leadership. He cast doubt on passage of the bill Wednesday.
“This is a completely arbitrary deadline set by people here to force people into a corner to make bad decisions,” he said.
Another key holdout, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, cited “progress” but said “there’s a long way to go.”
But top Republican leaders and President Donald Trump, whose policy agenda is embedded in the roughly 1,100-word bill, are in no mood to wait. They have grown frustrated, the senior Republicans said, that the ultraconservatives have shifted their demands after closing in on a deal late Tuesday evening.
The bill has also already gone through many committees, with the House Rules Committee beginning their meeting at 1:00am on Wednesday morning. "Rules Committee" has been trending on X throughout Wednesday. Roy is not only a key member of the HFC with these negotiations, but a member of the Committee.
The congressman has been posting and reposting his concerns throughout Wednesday from his X account, though his official account also previewed the meeting with Trump.
Yes, because a “menu of options” was what we needed 2 hours before going to the Rules Committee. https://t.co/vKa7b9BXOD
— Chip Roy (@chiproytx) May 21, 2025
Rep. Roy: "We're going to work with the president today. We're going to work with our colleagues to deliver, but there's a long way to go. I want to be very clear. We've got to deliver on what we're talking about,"
— Rep. Chip Roy Press Office (@RepChipRoy) May 20, 2025
Earlier on Wednesday, hours before the meeting and before he met with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Trump also indicated that "we're close."
The White House has also released a "Statement of Administration Policy," reminding how it "implements critical aspects of President Trump's budgetary agenda by delivering bigger paychecks for Americans, driving massive economic growth, unleashing American energy, strengthening border security and national defense, preserving key safety net programs for Americans who need them, while ending waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spending, and much more."
As Trump and Johnson have also been reminding, this bill speaks to Trump's campaign promises. "The One Big Beautiful Act reflects the shared priorities of both Congress and the Administration. Therefore, the House of Representatives should immediately pass this bill to show the American people that they are serious about 'promises made, promises kept.' President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal," it also mentioned in conclusion, echoing those remarks Pegram had referenced.
Get it done, Republicans. https://t.co/DEXLckCfmt
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 21, 2025
WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY for H.R. 1 — “One Big Beautiful Bill”
— Emily Brooks (@emilybrooksnews) May 21, 2025
“President Trump is committed to keeping his promises, and failure to pass this bill would be the ultimate betrayal.”
White House pushing for vote TODAY ad hardline conservative holdouts remain pic.twitter.com/1MbR6abKas
The president and HFC have also spoken positively of one another, including with a post from the HFC on Tuesday indicating as much.
In expressing their "love" for Trump, the HFC had been putting out a quoted repost of comments from The Wall Street Journal's Olivia Beavers. "I love the Freedom Caucus. Please leave them alone. Freedom Caucus are my guys," Trump had said when addressing Medicaid, per a source.
We love you too, Mr. President. The House Freedom Caucus is the strongest group of supporters of President Trump anywhere on Capitol Hill and in Washington. https://t.co/NZ0iLuQVRD
— House Freedom Caucus (@freedomcaucus) May 20, 2025
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