President Donald Trump’s budget reconciliation package, known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” passed by a razor-thin margin of 218-214 in the House on Thursday afternoon, but two Republican lawmakers are skipping the celebration, having been the sole Republican dissenters in Congress’ lower chamber.
“We got a statement from Republican Congressman Thomas Massie of Republican, one of just two Republicans to vote against the so-called 'Big Beautiful Bill,’” said CNN’s Boris Sanchez on CNN's "News Central," having received a comment from Massie following the vote.
“He says, 'It looks like the big bill is going to pass, but it wasn't beautiful enough for me to vote for it.' He said this shortly after casting his no vote.”
While he voted early Thursday to advance the megabill to a final vote, Massie ultimately voted against the bill itself and hasn’t shied away from making his opposition known. His opposition has largely centered around the bill’s potential impact on the deficit, which the Congressional Budget Office projected would add $3.3 trillion to the national debt over 10 years.
The other dissenting House Republican was Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), who previously voted for the megabill in the House, but objected to the changes made in the Senate, among which included an additional $900 billion hit to the national debt over 10 years, and an additional $200 billion slashed from Medicaid.
“It was the Senate’s amendments to Medicaid, in addition to several other Senate provisions, that altered the analysis for our (Pennsylvania Congressional District 1) community,” Fitzpatrick said in a statement Thursday.
“The original House language was written in a way that protected our community; the Senate amendments fell short of our standard. I believe in, and will always fight for, policies that are thoughtful, compassionate, and good for our community. It is this standard that will always guide my legislative decisions.”
Having passed out of the House without any changes from the Senate-passed version, it now heads to Trump’s desk for final approval, beating the president’s imposed July 4 deadline for the bill’s passage by one day.
