Can Johnson get the BBB across the finish line?

Now that the BBB is out of the Senate and headed to the House, it will be up to Speaker Johnson to get everyone on the same page to have the bill on Trump’s desk to celebrate Independence Day.

It will not be easy, as there is a lot of resistance to the bill, and unless they are all grandstanding, Trump will have to find another way to celebrate our nation.

It’s a no

The GOP has a total of three votes to spare in the House, and there are quite a few more than that who are not supporting this bill, if we are to believe Rep. Frost (D-FL).

He claims that there are about 20 Republicans who will not support this bill, and that is a monster number to flip in just 24 hours.

Frost stated, “They put up a little fight, so that way they have some footage that they can put behind their ads during election time, and then they fold right away. Sometimes they stick to it, so we’ll see.

“But the most important conversations — the most impactful ones — are actually [with] constituents and the people reaching out, and that’s why the big strategy right now is delay.”

Thomas Massie

One of those “no” votes is Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), and while he has stated he could flip, he has been, by far, the biggest opponent of the bill.

Massie has voted against the bill all along, mostly because he believes the bill will add significant debt over the next decade.

I have already stated that I would not support the bill on the fact I believe the debt will be over $40 trillion by the time Trump leaves office, which I think will be a death sentence for the GOP in the 2028 presidential race.

The Penn Wharton model has the bill adding $3.3 trillion over the next decade, but I just don’t see enough of the promised spending cuts, and with the projected deficit, and the interest on that deficit, that debt clock will be spinning like a top.

Chip Roy

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is another no due to the changes made in the Senate. But keep in mind, if the House makes major changes to the bill, it would have to go back to the Senate again, and it already needed JD Vance to break the tie.

Roy, after the Senate made its changes, stated, “The swamp is gonna swamp. And if the administration isn’t willing to lean on everybody and say ‘end this craziness,’ then why am I on the hook to vote for a bill just so I can get some tax cuts and border, which is what I want, but I don’t want all the spending. Here we are.” He later added, “I think there’s a significant number of House Republicans who do not believe that they can vote for this bill. I currently am one of those.”

Again there is a lot to like in this bill, but there is also a lot not to like, and there is simply no way I will back something that I think will add to our debt and is unfair to American workers, and that is how I see this bill (I do not like the tax provision of no tax no tips – how is it fair for someone making $50k in tips not to pay taxes when someone making $50k in salary does?).

So, either the House resistance is grandstanding and they all cave, or Trump spends Independence Day seething and blowing everyone up on Truth Social for not supporting the bill. That question will be answered in about 24 hours.