Speaker Mike Johnson said he’s not happy with the sprawling legislation Senate Republicans just sent back to the House.
“I’m not happy with what the Senate did to our product. We understand this is the process. It goes back and forth, and we’ll be working to get all of our members to yes,” Johnson said outside the House Rules Committee, which convened to debate the GOP megabill Tuesday afternoon.
“So high stakes, aggressive schedule, and we knew we would come to this moment,” Johnson said.
The comments come as conservatives like Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) are saying they won’t vote for the domestic policy legislation, which Senate Republicans passed on the thinnest of margins Tuesday afternoon after a grueling all-night vote-a-rama.
Norman told reporters outside the Rules committee that the House should send back its original plan to the Senate and leave town, instead of even considering the Senate Republican plan.
“My advice is to send the House bill back, pack our bags and go home and tell them to get serious,” Norman said of Senate Republicans.
“That math doesn’t work out. They’ve added $670 something billion dollars,” Norman said.
Shortly after Norman’s comments, Johnson huddled with Norman and fellow Rules committee and House Freedom Caucus member Chip Roy (R-Texas) in a room outside the committee.
Asked whether July 4 is still a realistic deadline for getting the bill to President Donald Trump’s desk, Johnson said, “We’ll see what happens in the next 24 hours.”
