House Speaker Mike Johnson pushed through President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act through the lower chamber on Thursday, squeaking out a victory for the president's spending-slashing agenda by a margin of just one vote.
The recent deaths of three Democratic representatives made the bill's passage possible, and two defectors from the GOP made the vote incredibly close. Johnson, R-La., shared with reporters that the real margin was much more comfortable than the final tally implied, laying into one member of his party for missing the vote to catch some shuteye.
“We actually had 217 votes this morning,” Johnson said. "Andrew Garbarino did not make it in time. He fell asleep in the back. No kidding. I know, I’m gonna just strangle him. But then — but he’s my dear friend."
Garbarino, R-N.Y., was one of two Republican representatives to miss the vote. While he had been present for much of the overnight session to pass the bill, he apparently nodded off at the worst possible time.
A spokesperson for Garbarino did not confirm the bedtime story in a statement, offering that he “briefly stepped out and inadvertently missed the vote.” Garbarino later shared that he was "moments away from the House floor, to vote ‘yes,’ when the vote was closed.”
Former Trump adviser Roger Stone called for Garbarino's removal, per the New York Post.
"If Garbarino can’t be bothered to support the president, on what is perhaps the single most significant tax reduction legislation to pass the House since the 1980s, then the President’s supporters can’t be bothered to support Garbarino,” he said.
Trump's big bill becoming law is by no means a given. The act still has to make its way through the Senate and could face significant snags even with the chamber's Republican majority.
Shares