Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ tax bill blocked by hardline Republicans

A key House committee on Friday failed to advance US House Republicans’ massive tax-and-spending bill after hardline conservatives blocked the bill and demanded deeper cuts to Medicaid and other government programmes.

The House Budget Committee rejected the bill 21-16, with Republican congressmen Chip Roy, Ralph Norman, Josh Brecheen, Lloyd Smucker and Andrew Clyde joining Democrats to vote against the bill.

It is incredibly rare for bills to fail at this step in the process, with the committee vote serving as a rubber stamp to the bill before it moves to the House floor.

The bill’s failure exposes the power a small group of lawmakers can wield as Republicans seek to push US President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” through the House with very narrow margins.

Republican infighting threatens to kill the bill, or at least significantly delay Republicans’ plans to pass the bill next week.

It is not immediately clear how House Republicans will regroup to address the divisions and advance the bill.