A sweeping federal fiscal bill championed by President Donald Trump narrowly passed the U.S. House on Thursday, with two Republicans, including local Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick, breaking ranks to vote against the measure.
The bill passed 218-214. Fitzpatrick and Congressman Thomas Massie, of Kentucky, were the lone GOP dissenters and joined all Democrats in voting against it.
The bill extends Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, increases spending on the military and border security, while reducing the number of people on Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The “Big Beautiful Bill,” as Trump has dubbed it, also includes a hike to the state and local taxes (SALT) deduction from $10,000 to $40,000 for five years and offers deductions for tips or overtime based on certain income levels, and allows. It doesn’t cut taxes on Social Security income, but will increase the amount seniors can deduct from their taxes.
According to CNBC, the bill is expected to boost after-tax income for individuals earning more than $1 million, increase the extension for estate and gift taxes to $15 million per estate or $30 million for couples, and decrease the charitable deduction value for high-income taxpayers.
A nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projects the bill’s provisions will increase the national deficit by $3.9 trillion.
The U.S. Treasury Department reported Thursday the national debt stood at $36.2 trillion.
The White House has disputed the CBO estimates on growing the nation’s debt, and officials argued it would held fix the nation’s finances.
Trump is expected to sign the bill into law Friday at the White House.
Activists warn the legislation could force 12 million people off Medicaid nationwide and cut food aid.
In Pennsylvania, state officials project 310,000 people could lose Medicaid and 144,000 people on SNAP risk losing assistance. In Fitzpatrick’s First Congressional District, which includes all of Bucks County and parts of Montgomery County, an estimated 10,827 people could lose Medicaid and 2,027 people could lose SNAP benefits, according to Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office.
Fitzpatrick’s office did not respond to requests for comment and an interview.
After the vote, the congressman posted a two paragraph statement on his website that said the amendments to the bill made in the Senate “fell short” on Medicaid. He stated he had supported the initial version of the bill in the House because its “language was written in a way that protected our community.”
In the spring, Fitzpatrick told the Bucks County Courier Times that he did not support cutting Medicaid.
Bucks County Commissioner Chairperson Bob Harvie, a Democrat challenging Fitzpatrick in next year’s election, criticized the bill’s potential impact.
“Thousands in our community will lose healthcare coverage. Our energy bills will go up. It’ll be harder for working families to put food on the table or afford higher education. Good-paying green energy jobs will be cut. Vulnerable seniors will lose access to the food and care programs they rely on,” said Harvie.
The Democrat also chided Fitzpatrick for not voting against the first version of the bill in the spring.
“He chose billionaires, special interests, and his party bosses over us,” Harvie said.
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Eli Cousin echoed the criticism.
“It is an indisputable fact that Fitzpatrick had a chance to fully kill this disastrous budget bill in May, but instead cast the deciding vote to keep the bill alive and advance it to the Senate,” he said.
State Senator Steve Santarsiero, a Democrat who chairs the Bucks County Democratic Committee, called cuts to food aid “a disgrace that anyone should go to bed hungry at night, let alone children.”
Fitzpatrick’s “no” vote on a procedural rule to advance the bill Wednesday night garnered attention.
NBC News reporter Melanie Zanona posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Republican caucus members were attempting to locate Fitzpatrick after he unexpectedly walked out of the chamber following his vote.
Conservative figures reacted strongly to Fitzpatrick’s position.
Scott Presler, a Republican grassroots organizer, posted on X: “Yes, I am aware that Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA01) voted NO to the Big Beautiful Bill. Message received.”
Conservative commentator Nick Sortor declared on Thursday that Fitzpatrick’s “career is OVER,” and a number of other conservative commentators vowed to work against Fitzpatrick.
The U.S. Senate passed the amended version of the bill earlier this week.
Some GOP lawmakers expressed concerns about the bill’s impact on the national debt, while some Republicans and many Democrats raised concerns about the cuts to SNAP and Medicaid.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, acknowledged the difficulties in satisfying all members yesterday.
“We can’t make everyone 100% happy,” he told reporters. “Never going to ask anybody to compromise core principles, but preferences must be yielded for the greater good.”
Moments before Thursday’s vote, Johnson said that citizens wanted the changes and reforms within the GOP-backed bill.
“This bill is going to put fairness back in the system,” he said.
Trump had posted on social media Wednesday that the party was “united” on the bill.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat, condemned the bill as a “reckless, regressive and reprehensible GOP tax scam” and pledged to use it against Republicans in next year’s midterm elections.
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