House passes Trump's 'big, beautiful bill' that Maryland Democrats railed against

WASHINGTON — Racing to meet President Donald Trump’s July 4 deadline, the House approved his massive tax and spending cut package on Thursday following a marathon session. Republicans said the bill amounted to a needed national “course correction,” but Democrats from Maryland and other states said it would rip health insurance from millions of Americans.

The vote was 218-214. All seven Maryland Democrats voted against the measure along with every other House Democrat. Rep. Andy Harris, the only Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, voted for it, saying the White House allayed concerns about the growing budget deficit by promising future executive actions that he said would result in hundreds of billions of dollars in federal savings.

Only two Republicans overall opposed the bill — Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania.

The measure was approved after a frustrated Trump sought to rally conservative holdouts, including Harris, to his side, and after House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York held the floor for a record of more than eight hours Thursday morning, railing against a bill he called “immoral.” Jeffries cited faith and scripture, including Matthew 25:35, which reads: “For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink.”

“FOR REPUBLICANS, THIS SHOULD BE AN EASY YES VOTE. RIDICULOUS!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social Wednesday night. He ultimately won over enough deficit hawks who had complained the bill would worsen the national debt.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said the legislation would “make this country stronger, safer and more prosperous than ever before, and every American is going to benefit.”

Jeffries pledged to fellow Democrats that “no matter what the outcome is on this singular day, we’re going to press on.”

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, called it “one of the worst bills for working families our country has ever seen.” All of Maryland’s Democratic House members opposed it and one, Rep. Johnny Olszewski Jr., of Baltimore County, cited the case of a medically challenged 4-year-old constituent who he said relies on Medicaid funds that could be cut under the legislation.

Approval by the Republican-controlled House followed the measure’s 51-50 approval on Tuesday, with Vice President JD Vance breaking the tie.

The measure, “One Big Beautiful Act,” which extends tax cuts from Trump’s first term and locks in many of his second-term domestic agenda items, now moves to his desk for his signature.

The legislation amounts to a “course correction” for the nation, providing tax relief for businesses, Rep. Addison McDowell, a North Carolina Republican, said on the House floor.

But Rep. Sarah Elfreth, a Maryland Democrat, said after the vote: “This is a really expensive bill that is still going to hurt people. We’re not borrowing to help people. We’re borrowing to hurt people and that’s really frustrating.” Her district includes Howard County and parts of Anne Arundel and Carroll counties.

Rep. Kweisi Mfume of Baltimore said the bill’s effects “will slowly start to be seen this time next year, with people being ripped off of Medicaid and Medicare and nursing homes not being able to take care of patients, particularly the elderly.”

It could have significant consequences for Maryland. The Senate’s version would implement changes to Medicaid that experts predict will cause roughly 11.8 million people nationally to lose healthcare.

Over 1.5 million people in Maryland are on Medicaid, according to the state Department of Health. It’s the largest source of federal funding to the state, receiving roughly $8.5 billion annually. Overall, 58% of the state’s total Medicaid budget is covered by the federal government.

Olszewski spoke against the bill Wednesday on the House floor alongside a photo of Amir Rich, a 4-year-old patient at Mt. Washington Pediatric Hospital. Amir was born two months premature, weighing two pounds, and has faced serious medical challenges.

Amir’s family, Olszewski said, relied on “vital support systems” such as Medicaid. “The bill guts these lifelines,” Olszewski said.

But Republicans argued that the changes strengthen Medicaid for its original intended recipients.

The measure would impose new work requirements on some recipients of Medicaid, the health care program for low-income and disabled people.

“For able-bodied adults without kids, yes, you should be required to work,” Rep. Nick Langworthy, a New York Republican, said on the floor.

“We think that the things that we did, the changes that we made,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said, were to “strengthen and improve Medicaid and make sure it delivers for the people for whom it was designed to deliver.”

Seven of Maryland’s eight House members and both of its senators are Democrats. Party leaders have called the bill heartless, and Moore said the Senate-passed measure “would deliver one of the most significant upward transfers of wealth in American history, and slash services that working people rely on in every corner of Maryland.”

Harris, the lone Maryland Republican in Congress and chair of the House Freedom Caucus, had previously called for deeper spending cuts during House negotiations.

With his vote uncertain, Harris and the Freedom Caucus were lobbied on X by Elon Musk, a longtime Trump supporter and former Department of Government Efficiency chief who has clashed with the president over the bill.

“How can you call yourself the Freedom Caucus if you vote for a DEBT SLAVERY bill with the biggest debt ceiling increase in history?” Musk posted on X. He called the post’s attention to Harris and Texas Rep. Chip Roy, a fellow deficit hawk who has criticized the Senate bill.

According to Harris, the White House ultimately compromised with the deficit hawks who were wary of projections that the bill would significantly increase the national debt. He said the conservative holdouts reached an agreement for future federal cost savings. That agreement, however, was not part of the bill.

“This kind of sidecar concept is exactly how we needed to address it,” Harris said after the vote. “The administration felt strongly, I think for good reason, that if we send this back over to the Senate, the Lisa Murkowskis over in the Senate were just going to make this even worse, in terms of its affect on the fiscal situation,” he added, referring to the Alaska Republican who received special provisions in the bill to win her vote.

The legislation also allocates billions for border security and the U.S. Department of Defense, while extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts and creating new tax breaks for tips and overtime.

The House originally passed the bill at the end of May. The Senate made extensive changes to the House version, deepening the Medicaid cuts by adding the additional work requirement and limiting the provider tax rate, which provides hospitals with additional federal funding.

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