Speaker of the House Mike Johnson walks, as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) pledged to slight House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday for what she called “broken commitments,” vowing to vote against a procedural step on President Donald Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
“I’ll vote for the bill, since we need to make it happen for our economy & there are some good provisions in it,” Spartz said in a social media post on X, vowing to ultimately vote in support of the $4.2 budget reconciliation package stuffed with tax cuts and cuts on social safety net programs.
“However, I will vote against the rule due to broken commitments by Speaker Johnson to his own members. I’m on Plan C now to deal with the looming fiscal catastrophe.”
While Spartz did not expand on what she meant by “Plan C,” her commitment to “vote against the rule” likely refers to what’s often referred to as a “special rule,” a House resolution that dictates the terms for debate on a particular piece of legislation, which in this case is Trump’s budget reconciliation package.
As of early Wednesday evening, Johnson was still hard at work trying to shore up Republican support for the megabill amid fierce resistance from hardline fiscal conservatives and moderate Republicans. With Republicans’ slim majority in the House, the party can only afford three defections and still pass the bill.
Spartz voted for the megabill when it was first taken up by the House, but took issue with the Senate version of the bill, which adds roughly $900 billion to the national debt over 10 years.
“The version passed by the Senate violates the minimum fiscal framework – signed by over 30 Republicans – by roughly half a trillion dollars,” she said on Monday in a social media post.
“Speaker Johnson previously committed not to put any bill on the floor that violates it, so members will have a decision to make.”
Despite the growing dissent among House Republicans, Johnson told reporters Wednesday that he still felt “very positive about the progress,” while noting that “we can’t make everyone 100% happy, it’s impossible.”