During the evening of May 18, four Republicans on the House Budget Committee, who were blocking the legislation on May 16, let the bill move forward as they asked for more extensive spending cuts during private discussions involving Republican leaders and White House officials, according to Reuters.

A potential vote on passage in the House of Representatives can occur later this week.

Experts project the bill would add $3 to $5 trillion to the country's $36.2 trillion debt in the next 10 years. Moody's on May 16 downgraded its credit rating of the U.S. government's long-term issuer and senior unsecured ratings to Aa1 from Aaa and changed the outlook to stable from negative. The rating agency cited "the increase over more than a decade in government debt and interest payment ratios to levels that are significantly higher than similarly rated sovereigns."

The legislation extends Trump's 2017 tax cuts, reduces taxes on some tips and overtime income, increases defense spending and offers more funding to the administration's border and immigration efforts, according to Reuters.

The four lawmakers who opposed the bill are asking for larger cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program and the complete repeal of green tax credits.

The budget panel's approval sends the legislation onto the House Rules Committee, which will consider amendments to the legislation, preparing it for a floor vote upon its passage. Speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson is pushing to get full House approval prior to the Memorial Day holiday on May 26.

Representative Ralph Norman, who was one of those who opposed the bill, noted that Republican leaders were discussing potential changes to proposed Medicaid work requirements. Norman is also advocating for a bigger reduction in federal medical support for able-bodied beneficiaries.

House Republicans and some Republican senators opposed major changes to Medicaid—the bill's cuts would take out 8.6 million people off the program—and nutritional initiatives for the poor. They believe it would hurt the voters who elected Trump and whose support they depend on for the 2026 midterm elections.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent dismissed Moody's action in interviews, explaining that the bill would ignite economic growth that would outpace what the U.S. owed, Reuters reported. 

According to Reuters, Congressional Republicans in 2017 also argued that the tax cuts would pay for themselves by stimulating economic growth. But the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the changes increased the federal deficit by just less than $1.9 trillion over a decade, even when considering positive economic effects.