Fiscal hawks face daunting test with Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’

Published May 20, 2025 6:00am ET



Conservative deficit hawks in Congress are on an island as House Republicans barrel ahead this week with the “big, beautiful bill” to advance President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda that would saddle more generations with trillions of dollars in debt.

Republicans are looking to pull out all the stops to get the legislation to clear the GOP-controlled House before Memorial Day weekend, including a 1 a.m. committee hearing Wednesday and private meetings between holdouts, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), and Trump.

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