U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) was one of the Republicans who met with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Wednesday to negotiate the “Big Beautiful Bill.”
On Tuesday, the budget reconciliation bill passed the U.S. Senate by a 51-50 vote, with Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.
The bill now must pass the House in its current form before being sent to Trump’s desk for signature.
While the bill passed the House in May by a narrow 215-214 vote, changes made to the legislation as it was debated in the Senate have led a group of House Republicans to hold out on giving final passage to the bill.
Ten Republicans have reportedly been identified as holdouts of the bill in its current form. Those members include Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05), Lauren Boebert (R-CO-04), Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09), Neal Dunn (R-FL-02), Andy Harris (R-MD-01), Dan Meuser (R-PA-09), Scott Perry (R-PA-10), Chip Roy (R-TX-21), Thomas Massie (R-KY-04), and Andy Ogles (R-TN-05).
Tim is one of the best! https://t.co/dYNMG2Z695
— JD Vance (@JDVance) July 2, 2025
Burchett, a fiscal conservative who has consistently been critical of bills that increase the national deficit, said his meeting with Trump was “very informative,” after previously saying he was hoping the president would provide some “comfort” on some of the “issues” members have with the bill in its current form.
“Hopefully, we get this thing worked out. The president answered all of our questions and was very informative…It was just a very good day,” Burchett said in a video posted to X as he was leaving the White House.
Burchett shared similar comments with Fox News’ Chad Pergram, telling the correspondent, “I think the conservatives are leaning more near the affirmative. I think we got some, some, some good information from the president.”
Tennessee’s Ogles, who introduced an amendment on Tuesday to revert the Senate-passed version of the bill to the version the House approved in May, has urged his colleagues in the House and Senate to stay in Washington, D.C., through the holiday weekend to “crank out” a stronger version of the bill.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Tim Burchett” by Tim Burchett.
If you hold out, Rep. Burchett… its possible that you can get a bag full of goodies for Tennessee, or at least for your district, just like Murkowski. Be smart…..