Trump-backed ‘big beautiful’ bill moves to House after Senate Republicans make changes

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Several House Republicans who previously had concerns about the Trump-backed GOP spending bill have come around to supporting the measure and are defending their positions.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., acknowledged he doesn’t love everything about the bill but said he thinks overall it’s a good product.

“Am I happy about everything? No, but there’s a difference between compromise and capitulation. We’re not capitulating. We’re compromising,” he told reporters.

Van Orden then pushed back against a reporter’s suggestion that Republicans will just do whatever Trump asks of them.

“The president of the United States didn’t give us an assignment. We’re not a bunch of little b—-es around here, OK? I’m a member of Congress. I represent almost 800,000 Wisconsinites,” he said.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., who has had deep concerns about Medicaid cuts, said he is strongly leaning toward “yes” after he attended a meeting with Trump at the White House. He said the Senate wrap-around amendment fixed some of his concerns about the provider tax provision.

Van Drew argued that the provider tax wouldn’t phase in for three years, which would give federal lawmakers room to reverse course if they need to.

“Come on, three years is a lifetime in this place,” he said. “You could delay it in the future; you could change it in the future. Or you could work with hospitals, and they may say, ‘Hey, we have figured a way to do this, and we’re not worried about it.’”

He also said the Democratic messaging over steep Medicaid cuts isn’t “sincere or accurate.”

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