Chip Roy Fires New Warning as Trump’s Big Bill Moves Forward: ‘Scam’

Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) warned that President Donald Trump’s vast tax and spending bill still “does not yet meet the moment” after it narrowly advanced out of a key committee during a rare Sunday night vote.

The House Budget Committee passed the reconciliation bill by 17-16 votes, but four Republican holdouts—including Roy—only voted “present”. This allowed the bill to move forward while demonstrating their opposition to the package in its current form.

Why it Matters

Trump has dubbed the sprawling package his “one big, beautiful bill”. It compiles measures that touch on all of his domestic priorities, such as tax cuts and funding for border security, and so is the centerpiece of his second-term agenda.

But the Republican majority in the House is slight, and representatives have different political calculations to make, leading to divisions on issues like Medicaid spending and deficit-financed tax cuts that make passing the bill a tough task.

What to Know

Roy praised a bill that he said “lays the foundation for much needed tax relief, border security, and important spending reductions and reforms” in a post on X, formerly Twitter, after the vote. He called it “a strong step forward”.

“But, the bill does not yet meet the moment—leaving almost half of the green new scam subsidies continuing,” Roy said in the post, also noting Moody’s recent downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.

“More, it fails to end the Medicaid money laundering scam and perverse funding structure that provides seven times more federal dollars for each dollar of state spending for the able-bodied relative to the vulnerable.

“This all ultimately increases the likelihood of continuing deficits and non-Obamacare-expansion states like Texas expanding in the future. We can and must do better before we pass the final product.”

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) met with Republican lawmakers shortly before the meeting and acknowledged to reporters that there are still details to “iron out.” He said some changes were being made, but declined to provide details.

It’s all setting up a difficult week ahead for the GOP leadership racing toward a Memorial Day deadline, a week away, to pass the package from the House.

The path ahead for Johnson is unclear as he tries to hold his narrow House majority together to pass the president’s top domestic priority of extending the tax breaks while pumping in money for border security and deportations—all while cutting spending.

Republicans criticizing the measure argued that the bill’s new spending and the tax cuts are front-loaded in the bill, while the measures to offset the cost are back-loaded.

In particular, they are looking to speed up the new work requirements that Republicans want to enact for able-bodied participants in Medicaid.

Johnson indicated he wants to impose the work requirements “as soon as possible” but acknowledged it may take states longer to change their systems. Those requirements would not kick in until 2029 under the current bill.

What People are Saying

Trump, who calls the package “one big, beautiful bill,” has criticized Republican opponents as grandstanders. He hailed the committee’s vote in a post on Truth Social: “CONGRATULATIONS REPUBLICANS!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!”

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) told CNN’s “State of the Union″ on Sunday: “This spending bill is terrible, and I think the American people know that. There is nothing wrong with us bringing the government in balance. But there is a problem when that balance comes on the back of working men and women. And that’s what is happening here.”

What’s Next

Speaker Johnson must now reconcile the remaining differences with the Republican holdouts in order to pass the bill through the House with his small majority of just three. He has set a deadline of Memorial Day for the passage of the bill.

This article includes reporting by The Associated Press.