House Republican leaders struggled to find the final votes to advance Donald Trump’s massive tax and spending package, holding key votes open for hours as the president and his allies worked to win them over.

They’re not quite there yet.

Trump had set an ambitious timeline to pass the fiscal package by July 4. Yet while Republicans control the US House and Senate, Trump ran into resistance from both cost-conscious conservatives as well as swing-district moderates, who worried the measure cuts too deeply into Medicaid and other safety-net programs.

On a key procedural vote late Wednesday, five “no” votes appeared on the board from Republicans, while eight others held back their votes. That would be enough to set back the measure — Johnson can afford a maximum of just three defections in the closely-divided House as every Democrat opposed it.

Trump voiced his frustration with the delay shortly after midnight Washington time, more than two and a half hours after the vote began.

“Largest Tax Cuts in History and a Booming Economy vs. Biggest Tax Increase in History, and a Failed Economy,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “What are the Republicans waiting for??? What are you trying to prove??? MAGA IS NOT HAPPY, AND IT’S COSTING YOU VOTES!!!”

The House vote in question was on the rule governing debate for the underlying tax measure. Historically, those are routine, party-line votes. However, in a House closely divided they can also become a venue for opponents to flex their leverage and seek to win concessions.

As House leaders furiously cajoled the holdouts and rebels, Speaker Mike Johnson said he’d keep pressing through the night to advance the president’s signature legislative initiative.

“I’ll keep it open for as long as it takes to make sure we’ve got everybody here accounted for and all the questions answered,” Johnson said in an interview on Fox News. He added that he had spoken to three of the four holdouts, and they’re looking for questions to be answered and are open to conversation.

Delivering the bill

Trump and Johnson had projected confidence ahead of the critical procedural vote. As voting began, the speaker told reporters that “we’re in a good place,” adding that “we’re going to deliver the big beautiful bill.”

“It looks like the House is ready to vote tonight,” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social social media platform.

“We had GREAT conversations all day, and the Republican House Majority is UNITED, for the Good of our Country, delivering the Biggest Tax Cuts in History and MASSIVE Growth,” the president said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson in the Capitol on Wednesday

Earlier in the day, Johnson expressed optimism that enough Republican lawmakers would come around to the legislation, which includes tax cuts the party campaigned on, a phase-out of Biden-era clean energy incentives and funding for Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“Most of our agenda is wrapped up in this legislation, so it must pass,” Johnson said.

‘The best we’ll get’

Their furious lobbying effort has moved some votes. Just not enough — yet.

Republican Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio, a fiscal conservative who voted against the initial House version of the legislation in May, said he would now support the measure.

“This bill isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we’ll get,” Davidson said in a social media post.

Representative Victoria Spartz of Indiana, previously undecided, said she too would back the measure — though wouldn’t back the rule to get there.

Representative Thomas Massie, who has been the most vocal critic of the measure among House Republicans, predicted opponents would eventually fall just short of the numbers needed to stop Trump’s bill, as they did the first time the House voted on it.

However some of the holdouts appeared to dig in.

Texas Republican Keith Self, in a lengthy X post, faulted the measure for not cutting enough spending, as well as on some policy provisions that fell short of his demands.

“The Senate broke the House framework, and then they stomped all over it,” Self said. “Now, House leadership wants to cram this broken bill down our throats by rushing it to the floor while in the middle of discussions, completely disregarding their promises.”

Questions answered

Several House lawmakers, including Representatives Chip Roy of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina, early in the day predicted a procedural vote needed to advance the legislation would fail.

But after a meeting with Trump’s budget director, Russ Vought, Norman offered praise for the guidance he provided on how the White House planned to wield the legislation’s authority to cut Medicaid spending.

“We had a lot of questions answered, a lot of information that we found out that we did not know,” said Norman, who has been pressing for steeper cuts to health insurance programs for the poor and disabled.

Earlier in the day, Trump summoned several conservatives to the White House to meet with them in person as well.

A key issue for that group is cost. The $3.4 trillion Senate bill adds more to the deficit than an earlier House version which clocked in at $2.8 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

‘Time to pass’

Any changes to the measure made to win over restive House Republicans would force the Senate to vote again on the bill, blowing Trump’s 4th of July deadline, and adding weeks of potential delay to his flagship measure.

Concessions to hardliners would also risk antagonizing swing-district moderates in the House. A group of them says steeper cuts to Medicaid providers in the Senate bill than in the earlier House version will devastate hospitals in their districts.

The White House so far hasn’t been entertaining changes to the bill text itself, instead exploring with Republican lawmakers if their priorities could be addressed in other ways, such as by executive actions or in future legislation.

Trump has repeatedly blasted Republican lawmakers resisting the legislation as “grandstanders” and has threatened to oppose reelection of members who block his agenda.

“We are going to get this done. Trump is the best closer,” Representative Richard Hudson of North Carolina, one of the House’s vote-counting whips, said. “The White House has made it clear we are done negotiating. It’s time to pass the bill.”