By Brian Swint

President Donald Trump's signature tax bill looked set to receive final approval from the House of Representatives on Thursday after some Republican lawmakers raised objections to the Senate's changes but later relented.

That means it's very likely that the bill will get to the president's desk before the self-imposed deadline of July 4.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said at about 3 a.m. Thursday that he had the votes to move the bill forward after five GOP critics of the bill had voted with Democrats on a procedural measure to prevent the legislation from proceeding. He predicted the final vote could come at about 8 a.m.

Objections from the holdouts ranged from those who argue that the bill increases the federal budget deficit too much to those who worry about the cuts to the social safety net. One lawmaker also cited withholding defense equipment from Ukraine as a reason he opposed the deal.

With a narrow 220-212 majority in the House, Republicans can't afford to lose many votes and it only barely squeaked through the first time around in May with a vote of 215-214. It got through the Senate with a tiebreaking vote from Vice President JD Vance.

But similar to what has happened in the past, it looks like the holdouts eventually came around. President Trump nudged lawmakers with a series of late night social media posts. The last one, posted after midnight Washington time, said. "FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!"

The resistance didn't last long as the July 4 deadline was fast approaching and Trump's late night posts urged them to support the bill. Johnson said he listened to their concerns, and they may have felt that there would be opportunities to address them later.

Trump has long said he'd like to sign the bill into law by Independence Day Friday. But there are no practical consequences if it takes longer.

Write to Brian Swint at brian.swint@barrons.com

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July 03, 2025 06:21 ET (10:21 GMT)

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