House passes spending bill — Here’s what’s in it
The House passed a spending bill that would raise the deficit and could put Medicaid in danger.
Marathon-long House committee markup meetings for President Donald Trump’s massive tax and government spending plans, monikered as “one, big, beautiful bill”, are putting U.S. representatives from both sides of the political aisle to sleep.
Around 5 a.m. in Washington, Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah) dozed off during the House of Ways and Means committee markup hearing on President Donald Trump’s legislative package.
Moore was called on several times while asleep in his chair for his vote on an amendment proposed by Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA). Chu had proposed an amendment that would protect automatic enrollment into the Affordable Care Act, Newsweek reported.
But Moore didn’t wake up until he was nudged by Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN). In an email to USA TODAY, Moore thanked Fischbach for “keeping me on track!”
“I may have needed a quick power nap, but Ways and Means Republicans powered through an 18-hour markup to deliver a tax bill that better serves American families, workers, and businesses,” Moore wrote.
After he woke up, Moore voted against Chu’s proposed amendment, which ultimately failed.
Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) was also caught on camera asleep.
“Been up for 31 hours straight fighting Republicans trying to gut Medicaid,” she wrote in response to the video on X. “Closed my eyes to think about an America where everyone has access to quality, affordable health care.”
The committee hearing on the bill’s Medicaid portions started at 2 p.m. on Tuesday, continued through the night and is ongoing. It’s expected to break records by going past the 27 consecutive hours lawmakers debated a repeal of the Affordable Care Act in 2017.
Contributing: Riley Beggin, USA TODAY
Contact Kayla Jimenez at [email protected]. Follow her on X at @kaylajjimenez.