U.S. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, reversed course last week and voted in favor of the sweeping Republican tax and spending package dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, helping push it through the House despite previously calling it “garbage.”
Roy had sharply criticized the bill during a House Rules Committee hearing on July 2, warning it would increase the federal deficit by nearly $3.3 trillion over the next decade.
“My colleagues in the Senate failed us,” he said during the hearing, according to Texas Public Radio (TPR). “If we’re going to do the tax policy, at least do the spending policy.”
In a subsequent interview with TPR and Politico, Roy said he believed the chances of the bill passing the House in its then-current form were “a hell of a lot lower than they were even 48 hours ago.”
The bill includes $4 trillion in tax cuts and sweeping changes to Medicaid, SNAP and energy spending.
Despite that strong opposition, Roy voted yes on July 3, citing major concessions negotiated with the Trump administration and House leaders. That same day, protesters rallied outside Roy’s district office in San Antonio, urging him to reject the legislation.
“The cuts to Medicaid, veterans’ benefits, SNAP, are going to be devastating,” said Chris Welde, a member of the Bexar County Democrats’ rapid response team, in an interview with TPR. “We’re already one of the worst in the country in terms of health.”
Among the demonstrators was Ray Raymond, a 77-year-old Vietnam veteran dressed in fatigues. “This cut means that, perhaps, they’re going to try to cut back benefits veterans have earned with their blood,” he told TPR.
Following the vote, Roy issued a detailed July 3 statement defending his decision. “Today, after a long day-and-night working hard to secure key wins from the administration… I voted to support the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill,’” he said.
Roy outlined several wins he attributed to House conservatives, including:
• $1.6trillionintotalsavings,
• Over$1trillioninMedicaidand Affordable Care Act reforms,
• More than $100 billion in SNAP reductions,
• Workrequirementsforbenefit recipients,
• Terminationof90%ofplanned green energy projects, and
• ExpandeduseofHealthSavings Accounts for Direct Primary Care. “We have passed the largest ‘mandatory’ spending reduction in American history,” Roy said. “We have terminated about half of Joe Biden’s signature accomplishment, the ‘Green New Scam.’” On Friday, July 4, President Donald Trump signed the bill into law.
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