US politics live: House debates Trump’s tax-and-spending bill after overnight advancement

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As Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries continues to delay a vote with his now more than three hour floor speech, Republicans remain confident they have the slim margin they need to pass the bill.

Appearing on Fox News Thursday morning, House majority leader Steve Scalise of Louisiana said he expects the bill to move to Donald Trump’s desk in “the next two hours.”

That would mean a vote would need to occur by 10 am in Washington.

Tom Ambrose

With a narrow 220-212 majority, Republicans can afford no more than three defections to get a final bill to Donald Trump’s desk.

Democrats are united in opposition to the bill, saying that its tax breaks disproportionately benefit the wealthy while cutting services that lower- and middle-income Americans rely on. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that almost 12 million people could lose health insurance as a result of the bill.

“This bill is catastrophic. It is not policy, it is punishment,” Democratic representative Jim McGovern said in debate on the House floor.

Republicans in Congress have struggled to stay united in recent years, but they also have not defied Trump since he returned to the White House in January.

Any changes made by the House would require another Senate vote, which would make it all but impossible to meet the 4 July deadline.

The legislation contains most of Trump’s top domestic priorities, from tax cuts to immigration enforcement. The bill would extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, cut health and food safety net programs, fund Trump’s immigration crackdown, and zero out many green-energy incentives. It also includes a $5tn increase in the nation’s debt ceiling, which lawmakers must address in the coming months or risk a devastating default.

The Medicaid cuts have also raised concerns among some Republicans, prompting the Senate to set aside more money for rural hospitals.

Jeffries continues floor speech opposing bill, passing three hours

The House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, has now been speaking for more than three hours on the House floor, highlighting the stories of Americans across the country who will be hurt by the bill.

“This is a crime scene and House Democrats want no part of it,” Jeffries said shortly after 8am in Washington. “And Mr Speaker, this is why we want no part of it.”

A final debate on the floor began shortly before 4am ET after the House passed a procedural vote. You can livestream the latest at the top of the blog.

A final House vote on the bill should follow this debate.

Bill an 'abomination' that will 'reward billionaires', says Jeffries

Tom Ambrose

Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries has spoken in “strong opposition of Donald Trump’s one big ugly bill”. Jeffries argued that the bill, that he described as an “abomination”, would gut Medicaid and “rip food from the mouth of children, seniors and veterans”. Instead, he said, it would “reward billionaires with massive tax breaks”.

Jeffries continued:

Every single Democrat stands in strong opposition to this bill because we are standing up for the American people.

He questioned why, if the Republicans were so proud of the bill, the debate had begun in the early hours. Many of his comments were followed by applause.

Jeffries said the bill would “hurt everyday Americans” and “people in America will die unncessary deaths”. He added:

That is outrageous, that is disgusting. That is not what we should be doing here in the United States House of Representatives.

House debates Trump’s tax-and-spending bill after overnight advancement

Good morning and welcome to our blog covering US politics.

The House has moved toward a final vote on Donald Trump’s sweeping tax-and-spending bill after hours of wrangling. The procedural vote had been initially delayed by the blocking of a rule that allows the debate to begin. But eventually, the House voted 219-213 to move forward at about 3.30AM ET.

The debate lasted much longer than expected also, mainly due to a marathon session by Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who labelled the legislation a “one big ugly bill” and read out many letters from Americans saying what Medicaid means to them.

Jeffries is still speaking on the House floor, saying in the early hours of Thursday morning that he would take his “sweet time” telling the stories of Americans whose lives will be upended by the legislation if it passes.

Meanwhile, House speaker Mike Johnson was optimistic Wednesday night and said lawmakers had a “long, productive day” discussing the issues, Reuters reported. He also praised Trump for making phone calls to the holdouts through the early hours of Thursday morning.

“There couldn’t be a more engaged and involved president,” the speaker told reporters.

Stick with us today as we break down the events of the day.