Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) said Tuesday evening that “about 20 Republicans” currently oppose President Trump’s mammoth tax and spending measure, and more may join them as pressure mounts and as House Democrats work to delay its passage.
“They can only lose three or four [votes], and it’s done,” Frost told MSNBC’s Jen Psaki in an interview after the Senate narrowly passed the bill following a marathon debate and efforts to tamp down pushback from moderate Republicans in the GOP-controlled upper chamber.
Frost said discussions are ongoing with moderates and ultra conservative House Republicans who have spoken out about various provisions of the bill, which would extend the tax cuts from Trump’s first term while cutting funding for social safety net programs like Medicaid and food stamps, but he argued GOP members on both fronts seem to “always fold.”
“They put up a little fight, so that way they have some footage that they can put behind their ads during election time, and then they fold right away,” Frost said. “Sometimes they stick to it, so we’ll see.”
“But the most important conversations — the most impactful ones — are actually [with] constituents and the people reaching out, and that’s why the big strategy right now is delay,” he added.
The House returned to the Capitol on Wednesday to hash out disagreements over the Senate version of the bill, as House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), Trump and Republican allies push for its passage by their self-imposed deadline Friday.
The House narrowly passed its version of the bill in May after Trump, Vice President Vance and Republican leaders pressured skeptical members to send the bill to the Senate so debate could continue while racing toward the president’s Independence Day deadline.
Frost told Psaki it’s imperative for Democrats, aided by public pressure, to kill the “horrible bill” and he views time as their biggest advantage.
“Every minute we keep this bill from passing, it becomes even more unpopular, and every minute we keep it from passing, that means there’s more people going to the district offices, calling the offices in D.C., sending letters, protesting, reaching on social media,” Frost said.
“When that compiles, we get to the point where hopefully many of these members will stick to it and vote ‘no,’ and that’s our goal,” he continued.
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