Trump admin updates: Trump says tariff letters to be sent to 'various countries' on Monday

As the House remains stuck in a staring contest, Speaker Mike Johnson told ABC News he is still hopeful the chamber will pass the president's megabill on Wednesday night.

"Making progress," the speaker told ABC News when asked if he has the votes. "I mean, good conversations and I think we can -- I'm hopeful we can proceed tonight and get this done."

Johnson left the Capitol, telling reporters he was going to pick up his wife and bring her back.

"I'll be right back," he said.

-ABC News' John Parkinson

House Republicans have enough votes to pass this current procedural hurdle on the floor, which allow them to move onto the rule vote to advance Trump's spending bill, but GOP leaders are keeping the vote open as they work behind the scenes to secure enough votes for the massive tax and policy bill.

The procedural vote has been open for more than two hours now, bringing the House to a halt.

House Speaker Mike Johnson continued to post statements urging passage of the bill.

"The One Big Beautiful Bill is essential to enacting @POTUS's AMERICA FIRST agenda. There is no time to delay. We NEED this bill for a safer, stronger, and more prosperous country," he said in a post on X.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Former President Barack Obama weighed in on the controversial Republican spending bill on Wednesday afternoon.

In an X post, Obama urged Americans to call their representatives "and tell them to vote no on this bill."

"More than 16 million Americans are at risk of losing their health care because Republicans in Congress are rushing to pass a bill that would cut federal funding for Medicaid and weaken the Affordable Care Act. If the House passes this bill, it will increase costs and hurt working class families for generations to come," he wrote.

-ABC News' Brittany Shepherd

A procedural vote on the House floor that was set for five minutes has now been open for nearly an hour.

Currently, an amendment to the rule from Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx has 211 yes votes from Republicans and 212 no votes from Republicans, with nine "no votes" from Republican members.

The delay comes as several GOP hardliners have expressed unhappiness with the Senate-passed version of President Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson was spotted by reporters walking off floor to his office around 2:30 p.m. ET. He was on the phone and avoided all questions from reporters.