Why Can’t Trump Unite Republicans Around His First Big Bill?

House Republicans are still in a fraught overnight standoff as President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson hurry to persuade almost a dozen GOP defectors, bringing Trump’s ambitious new domestic policy legislation perilously close to collapse, according to CNN reporting.

Speaker Johnson pledged to keep the procedural vote open “as long as it takes”, while House leadership labors around the clock to round up support and get the legislation moving. The stakes are high—this bill is Trump’s first big legislative win in his second term.

GOP Holdouts Stall Agenda of Trump

The standoff focuses on a coalition of right-wing Republican lawmakers who still oppose the bill. Their resistance risks derailing Trump’s legislative momentum in the early part of his term and highlights fissures in the Republican caucus.

“If the vote implodes,” CNN writes, “it would be a serious setback to Trump’s second-term agenda and compel GOP leaders to reconsider their approach.

Trump and his aides have been assuring Republican leadership for weeks that he could win over the recalcitrant conservative bloc that remained against the package. With the clock ticking, though, Trump and his officials have begun last-ditch efforts to turn around minds and save the vote.

White House Hosts GOP Lawmakers in Last-Ditch Talks

CNN reports that bipartisan groups of GOP lawmakers were summoned to the White House to protest the Senate-passed bill, with the hope that direct conversation would produce some kind of breakthrough. These sit-downs underscore Trump’s engagement and urgency to garner support for the legislation.

Meanwhile, Speaker Mike Johnson is dealing with one of the toughest leadership tests of his speakership. With a hair-thin Republican majority, Johnson has to hold together a party divided between mainstream conservatives and hardline elements suspicious of the bill’s content and sources.

Bill’s Future Uncertain Amid Internal Party Divisions

As the standoff drags on into the evening, the future of what Trump has referred to as his “big, beautiful bill” remains uncertain. Even if the House passes the procedural vote, lawmakers must still overcome several more hurdles before they can fully pass the bill.

The situation reflects the continued challenge Republican leaders have in containing their caucus and pursuing Trump’s policy agendas, even with control of the House, according to analysts.