The Biggest Flip-Floppers On Trump’s Enormous Tax And Spending Bill

WASHINGTON ― They hemmed and they hawed. They grumbled about cutting health care for millions of Americans. They whined about exploding the debt and threatening the nation’s fiscal health. 

In the end, almost every Republican lawmaker who voiced opposition to President Donald Trump’s big bill slashing taxes and Medicaid in recent weeks turned around and voted for it on Thursday, a huge cave that came as no surprise to anyone paying attention to Congress this year.

The legislative branch ― at least the Republican majority ― is completely subservient to Trump, steadily giving up its authority to an ever-powerful executive. However, much of the bill contains long-sought GOP goals, including tax cuts for the wealthy and massive cuts to the social safety net.

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In reality, most Republican members of Congress were never truly opposed to the bill. They were merely seeking to shape and influence the final product right up to the moment it passed. Once it passed the Senate with the help of a tie-breaking vote from Vice President JD Vance, it was clear it was just a matter of time before it reached Trump’s desk. 

Still, there were some particularly egregious flip-flops from members who issued tough-worded ultimatums that later melted away ― reversals that may come to haunt them in next year’s midterm elections.  

Rep. David Valadao

Valadao, a swing district moderate from central California, issued an unequivocal statement as the Senate was considering the bill, making it clear he wouldn’t support “harmful cuts to Medicaid,” which would impact the many Medicaid recipients in his state.

“I will not support a final bill that eliminates vital funding streams our hospitals rely on, including provider taxes and state-directed payments, or any provisions that threaten expansion states,” the congressman said. 

However, he voted to advance the bill on Wednesday, even though it contained exactly those provisions that threatened Medicaid. In fact, the bill contains over $1 trillion in cuts to the program, a historic reduction that will result in over 12 million people losing their health insurance over the next decade, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called out Valadao for his vote on Thursday, noting the large number of Medicaid recipients in his congressional district.

Rep. Victoria Spartz

The Indiana Republican has a reputation for being the most chaotic member of Congress. She frequently takes positions that make no sense, flip-flops often, and is generally a wildcard on any major piece of legislation.

Take her maneuvering on Trump’s tax cut bill, for example. As House Republican leadership struggled to unite their narrow majority on a motion to advance the bill on Wednesday, Spartz announced she would vote not to proceed, citing “broken commitments” that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) had made to her and other conservatives about tackling government spending. Yet at the same time, Spartz said she would support the bill when it came up for a final vote.

Then, in the middle of the night, Spartz reversed herself completely and voted for the motion to advance the bill anyway.

House Freedom Caucus

The House Freedom Caucus may as well change their name to the House Fold Caucus, because backing down on reducing spending is what they’ve done all year, on every piece of budget legislation. Its far-right members spent weeks dumping all over the bill — both the House version and the vastly more expensive Senate draft — only to vote for it with absolutely no changes.

The group’s leader, Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), voted “present” on the House bill in May, allowing it to pass by a single vote after receiving assurances the Senate would reduce its impact on the deficit. Last week, as the Senate advanced the bill, Harris doubled down.

“If the Senate tries to jam the House with this version, I won’t vote ‘present.’ I’ll vote NO,” Harris said.

In the end, the Senate jammed the House, and Harris voted “aye.” So, too, did Rep. Keith Self (R-Pa.), who called the bill “morally and fiscally bankrupt.” So, too, did Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.), who has called spending and the national debt “two of the greatest threats to the security, prosperity, and future of our country.”

“I vowed to fight until the very end — and I meant it,” Clyde said Thursday after a conversation with Trump at the White House.

What did the House Freedom Caucus get in return, other than tons of attention? Basically nothing. Trump promised to “make the bill better” in the future, vowing executive orders that don’t carry the force of law to implement their desired spending cuts.

Sen. Ron Johnson

The Republican senator from Wisconsin spent months advocating for large spending cuts, threatening to vote against the bill because it didn’t do enough to address the nation’s fiscal situation. 

“[Former President Joe] Biden averaged deficits of $1.9 trillion, and that’s our starting point. That’s apparently the new normal. I’m not accepting a new normal, and unfortunately, the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ pretty well accepts that new normal,” Johnson said early last month. 

“We have to return to a reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending,” he added.

In the end, he cast a critical vote that advanced Trump’s bill in the Senate after he and a group of other Senate conservatives were promised a vote on an amendment that would have meant even deeper cuts to Medicaid. Ultimately, Senate GOP leaders never allowed the vote on that amendment to occur. Johnson and the others voted for the bill’s passage anyway. 

The legislation is projected to add approximately $3.3 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years, per CBO. That’s even bigger than the initial $2.4 trillion the House version was estimated to add to the debt in the same timeframe.

SALT Caucus

The Congressional SALT Caucus also came around to supporting the bill after demanding changes to the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT. They didn’t get everything they wanted, but at least they walked away with something in return. 

The bill lifts the cap for state and local taxes from $10,000 to $40,000 starting in 2025, with phaseouts for consumers who earn more than $500,000 in income. The $40,000 limit would revert to $10,000 in 2030, however, in a defeat for moderate House Republicans from New York and California, who had pushed for a permanent change to the deduction. This includes New York GOP Reps. Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota, who were among the loudest voices pushing for a SALT cap increase.

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