Republican far-right wing caved to pressure from president and GOP leaders to allow bill to pass

US President Donald Trump will hold another bill-signing ceremony after both houses of Congress passed his bill. Photo / Getty Images file

It took almost all night and well into the morning, but the House Freedom Caucus eventually folded under pressure today to allow United States President Donald Trump’s massive policy agenda to advance.

Again.

Today’s capitulation to Trump came with no obvious concessions and mere hours after some members of the far-right caucus had vowed never to support the legislation.

“The Senate’s version of the BBB is morally and fiscally bankrupt. We must get back closer to the House-passed version,” Representative Keith Self (Republican-Texas) wrote on social media, referring to what Trump dubbed his “One Big Beautiful Bill” act.

Shortly after 3.30am local time, Self and every other member of the Freedom Caucus gave in and voted for the parliamentary rule that set up the final hours of debate.

They acknowledged that they would vote for the legislation after some vague promises from Trump and GOP leaders.

This came after weeks of bluster about how the House version of the legislation, approved by a single-vote margin May 22, was the only product they could vote for.

It has become a recurring theme of the 119th Congress. Here’s a rundown of five big moments when the Freedom Caucus has backed down in the first six months of this year:

1. January 3 speaker vote

On the opening day of Congress, Self and several Republicans initially refused to vote for House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana), leaving him just short of the votes needed to claim the gavel.

Eventually, Self and Representative Ralph Norman (Republican-South Carolina), who had been the lead holdouts, caved amid promises that Johnson would govern differently.

2. Government funding

As a matter of principle, Freedom Caucus members almost never vote for a so-called continuing resolution, which is the method that Congress uses to keep federal agencies funded when lawmakers have not completed their work on time.

In March, after Democrats signalled that they would not support that bill, the far-right flank voted to keep government agencies open.

3. Budget resolution

In April, after furious opposition to the Senate’s version of a budget framework, Freedom Caucus members fell in line and allowed the resolution to pass, 216-214, with no votes to spare.

4. First passage of “beautiful” bill

Before the May 22 first vote to pass what Trump called his “One Big Beautiful Bill”, several pockets of House Republicans held out, including blue-state Republicans pushing for better tax provisions for their constituents.

Eventually, the bill passed 215-214. Representative Andy Harris (Republican-Maryland), chair of the Freedom Caucus, was the only HFC member to not vote yes, voting present instead. Yet he also told the Washington Post that the bill was an example of how “we are going to deliver” for Trump.

5. Final passage of “beautiful” bill

Earlier this week, the Senate passed its version of the legislation, dramatically rewriting key portions of the House bill, increasing its impact on the deficit by at least US$700 billion and imposing sharper cuts to Medicaid.

Freedom caucus members were furious. Norman told reporters that it was a “nonstarter” and vowed to only vote for the House bill. Yesterday, and with no changes made to the legislation, Norman voted yes on the rule, and later every Freedom Caucus member had done the same.

Despite their proclaimed ideological purity, the caucus had folded. Again.