WASHINGTON – U.S. House Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart and Debby Wasserman Schultz are both worried about the future of a bill that President Donald Trump has described as “big” and “beautiful.”
Wasserman Schultz agreed on the size, but she described the bill as “ugly” over concerns about cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP.
The Democrat’s question: “In what universe is it OK to yank healthcare away from people who need it and take away their food assistance in service of giving millionaires and billionaires more tax breaks?”
Díaz-Balart released a statement supporting the “One Big Beautiful Bill” or the OBBB bill, which includes about $4.5 trillion in tax cuts over a decade.
“If Congress doesn’t pass the #OBBB most people will be hit with tax increases,” Díaz-Balart wrote on X.
The bill extends tax cuts from Trump’s first term, and it also removes taxes from tips and overtime pay. It also allocates $350 billion for national security, including immigration law enforcement.
The fiscally conservative worried about a deficit. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan agency, estimated the bill will add about $3.3 trillion to the federal debt. On X, Wasserman Schultz said the bill was going to put “a $4 trillion hole in our national debt.”
Trump set a Fourth of July deadline for legislators. There could be delays with Republicans divided on the bill that returned to the House for final approval after Vice President JD Vance’s tie-breaking Senate vote.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., appeared eager to put the bill to a final vote without changes.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York said only four Republicans needed to flip for the bill not to pass.
”This bill is a deal with the devil,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said. “It explodes our national debt, it militarizes our entire economy, and it strips away healthcare and basic dignity of the American people. For what? To give Elon Musk a tax break and billionaires, the greedy taking of our nation.”
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., opposes the bill and has Musk’s backing. Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Ralph Norman of South Carolina sided with Democrats on a procedural vote on Wednesday.
“Senate doesn’t get to be the final say on everything,” Roy told CNN. “Got to work this out.”
Complete coverage: The latest updates