Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ Passes House Amid GOP Alarm Over $36T Debt Crisis

House Republicans narrowly passed President Donald Trump's sweeping legislative package, dubbed The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, in a tense vote that exposed deep fissures within the party over the nation’s $36 trillion debt crisis. The bill, which squeaked through by a single vote after late-night negotiations and a last-minute push from Trump himself, aims to advance his agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, and defense. Yet, it’s the debt issue that’s sparking the loudest alarm bells.

Two GOP holdouts, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), stood firm against the bill, citing its potential to balloon the deficit. Davidson took to social media, stating, "Promising someone else will cut spending in the future does not cut spending. Deficits do matter, and this bill grows them now." Massie, known for wearing a national debt clock pin, echoed this on the House floor, warning that the bill is a "debt bomb ticking." Their defiance drew sharp criticism from the White House, with Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt suggesting the dissenters should face primary challenges for undermining party unity.

The bill promises $1.5 trillion in spending cuts to address the debt, but skeptics like Massie argue these are distant promises that fail to tackle the immediate fiscal reality. Former Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), recently ousted in a primary, piled on, warning that the bill could push the national debt past $60 trillion. With the U.S. already spending $1.05 trillion more than it collected in fiscal year 2025, according to the Treasury Department, the concerns are hardly abstract.

While GOP leadership celebrates the bill as a victory, the internal clash reveals a deeper truth: the party’s struggle to balance bold policy ambitions with fiscal responsibility. As the debt clock keeps ticking, the question remains—will these cuts ever materialize, or is this just another promise deferred?