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

He added that BRICS-aligned nations will face an additional 10% tariff.

Last Updated: July 6, 2025, 11:42 PM EDT

After days of Republican drama, the House on Thursday passed President Donald Trump's sweeping tax cut and spending bill.

Trump helped Speaker Mike Johnson pressure GOP holdouts into flipping their no votes to allow the measure to go forward in time to meet the president's self-imposed July Fourth deadline.

Jul 03, 2025, 6:01 AM EDT

Megabill passes key procedural vote

The House passed the rule vote by a tally of 219-213. Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick was the lone Republican to vote No with all Democrats.

The other four Republican No votes — Victoria Spartz, Thomas Massie, Keith Self, and Andrew Clyde — flipped to yes in the wee hours of the morning.

The House is currently debating the bill. Following one hour of debate, the House could vote on a motion to consider the legislation.

Emerging from a ceremonial office off the House floor at 3 AM, Speaker Johnson said he had the votes to pass the rule to advance the Trump-backed megabill.

“We'll be moving forward here shortly,” Johnson said about the procedural vote that had dragged on almost 6 hours Thursday morning.

“The group will go down, get the votes necessary to pass the rule, we'll proceed to debate, probably two to three hours for that. There's an hour allotted, but leader Jeffries gets a magic minute. I think he goes about an hour. Mine will be much shorter than that, and we will proceed to the final vote, and we'll be passing this bill I expect maybe round 8, 8:30 this morning,” Johnson told reporters.

-ABC's Arthur Jones II

Jul 03, 2025, 12:06 AM EDT

Ahead of procedural vote, Trump cheered on Republicans, insulted Jamie Raskin

In a series of posts on his social media platform Wednesday night as the House was gearing up for a crucial procedural vote on his massive tax and policy bill, President Donald Trump sought to cheer on Republicans and insulted a Democratic member.

"The USA is on track to break every record on GROWTH. Go Republicans, beat the Crooked Democrats tonight!" Trump posted shortly after 9:30 p.m., around the time voting began on the procedural motion. "PRO-GROWTH Tax Cuts never fail. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in the Oval Office of the White House, May 23, 2025, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP, Files

About 10 minutes earlier, Trump posted a statement targeting Rep. Jamie Raskin with a string of insults.

"Rep. Jamie Raskin, a third rate Democrat politician, has no idea what is in our fantastic Tax Cut Bill, nor would he understand it if he did. This DOPE has been consistently losing to me for YEARS," Trump said.

He closed with, "Raskin is a bad politician, and a TOTAL LOSER!"

PHOTO: House Lawmakers Work On Final Passage Of Signature Budget Bill
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) prepares for a television interview during a procedural vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the U.S. Capitol on July 02, 2025 in Washington, DC. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA), President Donald Trump and other Republicans are scrambling to gather enough support to begin debate on Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill.
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Jul 02, 2025, 11:41 PM EDT

Speaker Johnson says rule vote will remain open for 'as long as it takes'

House Speaker Mike Johnson said he plans to keep the rule vote “open as long as it takes” to advance President Donald Trump’s massive tax and policy bill.

“I'll keep it open as long as it takes to make sure we've got everybody here and accounted for and all the questions answered,” Johnson said during a phone interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity.

PHOTO: Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, in Washington
U.S House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to the press as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters

"I made that commitment to my members. You know, we're in an era of Congress where we have small margins, small majorities, and that makes it, by necessity, a bottom-up institution.”

The rule vote has been open for nearly 2 hours.

GOP leaders have been huddling with the holdouts to try and flip their votes.

Johnson said Trump has been “deeply involved” in the megabill negotiations.

Asked if Trump has spoken directly to members tonight, Johnson said, “He has been.”

The vote tally as it stood 2 hours into the House vote on the procedural motion.
Courtesy House.gov

“In fact, he called me most recently about an hour ago and said, ‘Who else needs to have a discussion? I’m ready to get on the phone.’ And I said, ‘Mr. President, you’ve done your job, and we’ll do ours here,’” Johnson said.

The speaker continued to express optimism about getting the bill across the finish line by Independence Day.

“So, we are going to get this job done. Everybody will celebrate together, but the real celebration will be by the American people, because they are going to see the effects of this quickly,” he said.

-ABC News' Lauren Peller

Jul 02, 2025, 10:29 PM EDT

Johnson: ‘We’re in a good place right now’

Speaker Mike Johnson expressed confidence as the House attempted to move forward to pass Trump’s tax and immigration megabill, telling reporters “It’s been a good day” despite being stuck in legislative quicksand all afternoon and into the late evening.

“Well, it's been a long, productive day. We've been talking with members from across the conference and making sure that everyone's concerns are addressed and their questions are answered, and it's -- it's been a good day,” Johnson said. “We're in a good place right now. This is the legislative process. This is exactly how I think the framers intended for it to work.”

PHOTO: Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, in Washington
U.S House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to the press as Republican lawmakers struggle to pass U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 2, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters

While it was uncertain whether Johnson had the votes to pass the bill, he predicted Republicans will deliver.

“We feel very good about where we are and we're moving forward,” Johnson said. “So we are going to deliver the big, beautiful bill, the president's American First agenda, and we're going to do right by the American people. This is going to be a great thing for the country. Look forward to moving it forward.”

-ABC News’ Arthur Jones II, John Parkinson, Lauren Peller and Jay O’Brien

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