WASHINGTON—Representative Jodey Arrington (R-TX) voiced serious concerns Monday over major revisions made by the Senate to the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping legislative package central to President Trump’s second-term domestic agenda. Arrington warned that key changes could make the bill "very difficult to impossible" to pass in the House.
“There’s a lot of things that have to be remedied from the text of the various committees before it’s ready to be received back in the House — and they are significant on the Senate side,” said Rep. Arrington. “Instead of the modest changes and tweaks that we asked them to do because of our delicate balance struck in the House, they have made significant changes that have caused concern for various groups in our conference.”
The bill, dubbed the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by Trump and Republican leadership, combines major tax reform, spending cuts, energy policy rollbacks, and regulatory restructuring into one large package. It is seen by House Republicans as a defining piece of legislation, aimed at reshaping federal priorities around conservative principles of economic growth, energy independence, and fiscal restraint.
But some of the Senate’s changes are proving problematic for House conservatives.
Rep. Arrington pointed to the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap as one example. “I like the policy, but there’s no change in SALT from the $10,000 cap. That’s a nonstarter for the SALT guys,” he said, referencing members from high-tax states who pushed for raising or eliminating the cap.
He also flagged fiscal concerns. “There’s going to be at least hundreds of billions of dollars more in deficit spending that needs to be offset,” he said, adding that this would raise alarms for House budget hawks. Another issue: a longer timeline for phasing out green energy tax subsidies, a move unpopular among Republicans seeking a quicker transition away from subsidies.
“All I’m saying is there are several, not just one or two, material changes in the Senate that would make it very difficult to impossible to pass in the House,” Arrington said.
Despite the challenges, he called on Congress to stay in session beyond the holiday if necessary. “I think we should stay here and work through it until we get it done. What’s a more patriotic way to spend the Fourth of July than making sure we have a big, beautiful bill?”
The final version of the bill will require reconciliation between the House and Senate, and must be completed by the end of the summer recess window if it’s to move forward this year.
