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House Republicans move quickly to vote on Trump tax bill

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Republican support remains unclear after infighting

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The measure would add $3.8 trillion to US debt

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Democrats vow to 'fight like hell' in opposition

By David Morgan and Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON, May 22 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald

Trump's sweeping tax and spending bill cleared a crucial hurdle

on Thursday, as the House of Representatives voted roughly along

party lines to begin a debate that would lead to a vote on

passage later in the morning.

The bill would extend Trump's signature 2017 tax cuts,

create new tax breaks for tipped income and auto loans, end many

green-energy subsidies and boost spending on the military and

immigration enforcement. It would also tighten eligibility for

food and health programs that serve millions of low-income

Americans.

The proposed legislation - which Trump nicknamed "one big

beautiful bill" - would also add $3.8 trillion to the $36.2

trillion U.S. debt burden over the next decade, according to the

nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Lawmakers voted 217-212 to begin a floor debate on the

legislation during a rare pre-dawn session that featured

choruses of cheers and boos between party members. A single

Republican lawmaker, fiscal hawk Thomas Massie, joined Democrats

in opposition.

They were due to vote again to pass the measure later in the

morning and send it on to the Republican-led Senate, which would

likely take weeks to act.

It was not clear that House Speaker Mike Johnson would

secure the necessary support from his own narrow 220-212 seat

Republican majority.

Johnson expressed confidence the bill would pass the House

after a White House meeting with Trump and hardline

conservatives, who were angry that it did not contain more

spending cuts.

"We're in a very good place," Johnson told reporters. "I

believe we are going to land this airplane."

Republicans have been deeply divided over the bill, raising

questions about whether they can muster the unity needed to pass

it against uniform opposition from Democrats.

After a false start in one congressional committee last

week, the legislation cleared another panel late on Wednesday

following a marathon session lasting nearly 22 hours in which

Democrats filed more than 520 amendments in an unsuccessful bid

to alter the proposed legislation.

Democrats later sought to delay consideration of the bill on

the House floor with a series of failed motions that called the

validity of the process into question.

"We are going to fight back and we are going to fight like

hell," Democratic Representative Jim McGovern said.

"This bill is a scam, a tax scam designed to steal from you,

the American people, and give to Trump's millionaire and

billionaire friends," he added.

The Medicaid health program for low-income households had

proved to be a major sticking point between Republicans, with

fiscal hawks pushing for cuts to partly offset the cost of the

bill's tax components, which moderate Republicans say would hurt

voters whose support they will need in the 2026 midterm

congressional elections.

But after Wednesday's White House meeting, Republicans

unveiled an amendment package containing deals between Johnson

and various Republican factions.

The revisions included imposing work requirements for the

Medicaid program at the end of 2026, two years earlier than

previously planned. It also penalized states that expand

Medicaid in the future and raised the amount of state and local

taxes that can be deducted from federal income taxes.

DEBT CEILING

Credit rating firm Moody's last week stripped the U.S.

government of its top-tier credit rating, citing the nation's

growing debt. U.S. stocks fell on Wednesday amid investor

concern about the mounting debt.

Passage on Thursday would meet Johnson's self-imposed goal

of advancing the bill by the May 26 Memorial Day holiday.

Lawmakers will face a far more significant deadline this

summer, when the Treasury Department will run out of money to

cover its obligations unless Congress raises its self-imposed

debt ceiling. Failure could trigger a devastating default.

Republican lawmakers have said they do not believe the

nonpartisan analysts' projections and accused Moody's of

deliberately timing its Friday afternoon downgrade to try to

block the bill's passage.

They argue the bill will pay for itself by stimulating

growth. When congressional Republicans were advancing Trump's

2017 first-term tax cuts, they made a similar argument.

But the CBO estimates the changes increased the federal

deficit by just under $1.9 trillion over a decade, even when

including positive economic effects.

During the floor debate, Massie warned that the bill's

passage would lead to fiscal disaster for American families.

"We're not rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic tonight.

We're putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the

iceberg," the Kentucky Republican said.