(Photo Kevin Dietsch)
Five House Republicans voted present, opposed or missed the vote on President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill,” which included major spending and tax cuts.
The House advanced the legislation mostly on party lines Thursday with a vote of 215-214-1. Among Republican lawmakers, Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie voted against it, Maryland Rep. Andy Harris voted present and New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino and Arizona Rep. David Schweikert were both absent from the vote.
Every House Democrat opposed the bill.
Ohio Rep. Warren Davidson and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie voted cited concerns over its impact on the national deficit and the lack of reductions in federal spending.
“While I love many things in the bill, promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending. Deficits do matter, and this bill grows them now. The only Congress we can control is the one we’re in. Consequently, I cannot support this big deficit plan. NO,” Davidson explained in a post on X.
Massie echoed Davidson’s remarks by sharing his post and expressing agreement. “If we were serious, we’d be cutting spending now, instead of promising to cut spending years from now,” he wrote.
I agree with @WarrenDavidson. If we were serious, we’d be cutting spending now, instead of promising to cut spending years from now. https://t.co/DFxTyhhYA9
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 22, 2025
Massie consistently opposed the bill during its consideration, criticizing lawmakers for relying on “fantasy math” when assessing its fiscal impact.
During his visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, President Trump told reporters “No, I don’t think Thomas Massie understands government,” and “I think he’s a grandstander, frankly … I think he should be voted out of office.”
Maryland Rep. Andy Harris, who serves as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, said he voted “present” to facilitate the legislative process.
“I voted to move the bill along in the process for the president. There is still a lot of work to be done in deficit reduction and ending waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program,” Harris wrote in a post on X.
I voted to move the bill along in the process for the President. There is still a lot of work to be done in deficit reduction and ending waste, fraud, and abuse in the Medicaid program.
— Rep. Andy Harris, MD (@RepAndyHarrisMD) May 22, 2025
Garabino’s spokesperson said in a statement obtained by Politico that “the Congressman briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote.”
At a House GOP leadership press conference Thursday, Speaker Mike Johnson said Garbarino had fallen asleep during the vote. “Andrew Garabino did no make it in time,” the speaker said. “He fell asleep in the back. No kidding.”
Johnson said Schweikert had planned to back the legislation but cast his vote shortly after the voting period came to an end. A spokesman for the GOP representative told Politico the congressman arrived at the chamber’s floor as the vote came to a close.
Here’s a sign of what’s in store if the big beautiful bill passes. Congress can do fantasy math, but when investors put money on the line, the math gets real. Bond markets are already demanding higher returns because Congress isn’t serious. The Fed no longer controls rates. https://t.co/k2UFrWzybu
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) May 21, 2025
Both representatives played significant parts in the legislation, with Garbarino advocating for a higher cap on the state-and-local-tax deduction and protecting clean energy tax credits and Schweikert being a senior member on the Ways and Means Committee, the outlet noted.
The “one big, beautiful bill” will now move to the Senate for consideration and may return to the House in the coming weeks with amendments. GOP leadership aimed to pass it out of the House by Memorial Day, with hopes of sending it to Trump’s desk by July.
