Republican-led House passes Trump agenda bill by a single vote

Supreme Court lets Trump fire heads of independent labor agencies for now

The conservative majority boosted Trump's bid for full executive branch control

The Supreme Court's conservative majority on Thursday bolstered President Donald Trump's bid to assume full control of executive branch agencies, giving a green light -- for now -- to his removal of the heads of the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board, whom he fired without cause.

A district court had sided with Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board and Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board, concluding their firings from their independent agencies were likely illegal and must be reversed.

In a 6-3 decision, the high court granted Trump's request for a stay of the lower court order to reinstate Harris and Wilcox, at least for now.

"The Government faces greater risk of harm from an order allowing a removed officer to continue exercising the executive power than a wrongfully removed officer faces from being unable to perform her statutory duty," the majority explained.

MORE: Trump is not a king, judge says in reinstating fired federal labor board member

The dispute is currently working its way through a federal court of appeals and may ultimately return to the Supreme Court on the merits.

Federal law and Supreme Court precedent explicitly prohibits the president from removing the heads of those independent, advisory agencies without cause in most cases -- but conservatives and the administration have long argued that the rule is unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented from the decision.

"Today's order favors the President over our precedent; and it does so unrestrained by the rules of briefing and argument -- and the passage of time -- needed to discipline our decision-making," Kagan wrote. "I would deny the President's application. I would do so based on the will of Congress, this Court's seminal decision approving independent agencies' for-cause protections, and the ensuing 90 years of this Nation's history."

The case has been closely watched as one of the most high-profile tests of the president's power to control independent agencies created by Congress and designed to be insulated from politics.

MORE: Trump and the 'unitary executive': The presidential power theory driving his 2nd term

Special focus has been on the potential implications of the case for the Federal Reserve. Trump has made his displeasure of Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell well-known and threatened to attempt to fire him, even though the appointment to chairman has historically been protected from presidential meddling without cause.

The Supreme Court's majority nodded to those concerns in its order.

"Respondents Gwynne Wilcox and Cathy Harris contend that arguments in this case necessarily implicate the constitutionality of for-cause removal protections for members of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors or other members of the Federal Open Market Committee. We disagree," the majority wrote. "The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States."

Small plane crashes into San Diego neighborhood: Police

Residents have been asked to avoid the area

A small plane crashed in a neighborhood of San Diego on Thursday morning, spewing jet fuel and starting a large fire that damaged at least 15 homes and multiple cars, fire officials said Thursday.

Officials are working to to get everybody out of the neighborhood and they will be going home to home to find out if there is anybody inside, San Diego Assistant Fire Chief of Emergency Operations Dan Eddy said at a press conference, referring to it as "like a movie scene."

Authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuations along several b...Show more

Gregory Bull/AP

The plane directly hit multiple homes and cars, setting them ablaze, before running down the street, Eddy said.

MORE: 2 dead after small plane crashes into homes in Simi Valley, California

Vehicles burn as firfighters work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing evacuatio...Show more

OnScene.TV

A home is damaged after a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, May 22, 2025.

Gregory Bull/AP

No patients have been transported as of now, with officials searching to see if anyone is inside the impacted area, Eddy said.

The small private jet crashed seconds before landing at about 3:45 am. local time, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

The plane was flying from Wichita, Kansas, to San Diego's Montgomery Gibbs Executive Airport when it crashed. It was roughly 500 feet in the air at its last radar check-in, according to the FAA.

Vehicles are damaged as authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing ev...Show more

Gregory Bull/AP

Vehicles are damaged as authorities work the scene where a small plane crashed into a San Diego neighborhood, setting several homes on fire and forcing ev...Show more

Gregory Bull/AP

"A Cessna 550 crashed near Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport in California, around 3:45 a.m.local time on Thursday, May 22. The number of people on board is unknown at this time," the FAA said in a statement.

There was no mayday call before this crash. The last communication was the pilot announcing on the radio that he was 3 miles out and landing. The tower was closed at the time and this is standard procedure.

Residents have been instructed to avoid the area near near Sculpin Street and Santo Road as crews work.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Republican-led House passes Trump agenda bill by a single vote

The win for Speaker Mike Johnson comes after weeks of internal GOP wrangling

Republican-led House passes Trump agenda bill by a single vote

The win for Speaker Mike Johnson comes after weeks of internal GOP wrangling.

ByJohn Parkinson, Lauren Peller, Arthur Jones II, Jay O'Brien, and Allison Pecorin

May 22, 2025, 6:41 PM

1:01

House committee advances Trump’s ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ for floor voteBy the slimmest of margins, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans passed th...Show more

After weeks of internal GOP wrangling, the Republican-led House early Thursday passed the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," critical to advancing President Donald Trump's tax and immigration agenda.

A smiling Speaker Mike Johnson announced the massive measure passed by a single vote -- 215-214 -- and was greeted with applause. He had struggled to get it done -- as he had promised -- by Memorial Day, before lawmakers go on recess.

The sweeping package of tax cuts, Medicaid reform and immigration spending delivers on many of the president's domestic campaign promises.

Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson accompanied by Republican lawmakers speaks about the passing of President Donald Trump's big bill of tax bre...Show more

ABC News

Following debate that stretched Wednesday through the entire night and into early Thursday morning, the vote was a triumphant moment for Johnson, who conquered sharp divisions among his conference "through a lot of prayer" amid a historically low 3-vote majority.

"The bill gets Americans back to winning again, and it's been a long time coming," Johnson proclaimed during his speech on the floor moments before the final vote. "It quite literally is again morning in America, isn't it, all right?"

President Donald Trump walks into the East Room to celebrate the team's 2025 NCAA championship at the White House on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump celebrated the passage of what he called "THE ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL" in a social media post, calling it the "most significant piece of Legislation that will ever be signed in the History of our Country!"

He said it fulfilled his campaign promise of "No Tax on Tips and No Tax on Overtime." He also recognized the tax deductions when consumers purchase an American-made vehicle, funding for the Golden Dome defense system, and the "TRUMP Savings Accounts" incorporated in the legislation.

"Great job by Speaker Mike Johnson, and the House Leadership, and thank you to every Republican who voted YES on this Historic Bill!," Trump wrote.

"Now, it’s time for our friends in the United States Senate to get to work, and send this Bill to my desk AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!" Trump added, before slamming Democrats.

During the final House vote, Republican lawmakers approached the speaker with congratulatory handshakes and back slaps. Someone also played Queen's "We Are The Champions" off a phone for about 10 seconds while the vote was underway.

Republicans cheered, whistled and applauded when the threshold for passage was achieved at 6:54 a.m.

The successful vote, with one GOP lawmaker voting present, sends the reconciliation bill to the Senate, where the Republican majority is expected to revise the legislation over the next month or longe

Two House Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio, opposed the vote alongside the entire House Democratic Caucus. Rep. Andy Harris, the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, voted present.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks to the media after the House narrowly passed a bill forwarding President Donald Trump's agenda at the U.S. Capitol...Show more

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Johnson took a victory lap following the vote – holding a news conference alongside his leadership team and committee chairs – after Republicans pulled off the improbable and passed the president's signature legislative package.

"It's finally Morning in America again," Johnson beamed as he repeated his earlier comment. "The media and the Democrats have consistently dismissed any possibility that House Republicans could get this stuff. They did not believe that we could succeed in our mission to enact President Trump's America first agenda, but this is a big one, and once again, they have been proven wrong."

After a marathon hearing that ended overnight, the House Rules committee voted 8-4 to tee up action on the House floor.

The committee vote came after changes to several of the bill's provisions, including a change to when Medicaid work requirements would kick in.

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy, one of the GOP holdouts that had put the bill's fate in question, was absent for the committee's votes.

The key procedural step was needed before advancing the legislation to a final vote.

The slow march toward passage comes after Trump met with House Speaker Mike Johnson and members of the House Freedom Caucus on Wednesday, aiming to shore up support for the bill.

That meeting came after earlier negotiations with hard-liners fell apart Tuesday. The GOP is far from unified around the bill, which they earlier had said they hoped to move to a vote on Wednesday. Several sticking points, primarily regarding Medicaid work requirements and a cap on state and local tax deductions, still need to be worked out.

After the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "The meeting was productive and moved the ball in the right direction. The President reiterated how critical it is for the country to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill as quickly as possible."

Clearing the House is just the first hurdle for the bill -- it will also have to pass muster with a Senate Republican conference that is already telegraphing that they plan to make changes.

Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson accompanied by Republican lawmakers speaks about the passing of President Donald Trump's big bill of tax bre...Show more

ABC News

MORE: What's in Trump's 'big' tax and immigration bill House Republicans are struggling to pass

Here are the major changes to the bill in the 42-page amendment:

Medicaid: The start date for new Medicaid work requirements will now kick in "no later than December 31, 2026." The original bill had the work requirements starting in 2029.

This alteration is a win for hardliners who have for days been pushing for steeper spending cuts to be included in the package. Medicaid work requirements are expected to reduce spending in the bill.

There is also a new incentive for states to not expand Medicaid. Medicaid expansion states are increasing state-directed payments up to 110% to maintain the structure.

State and Local Tax Deductions: SALT deduction rises to $40,000 for incomes under $500,000. This is a substantive change from the $10,000 cap that was implemented by Republicans in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

This is a concession geared toward satiating blue-state Republicans in states like New York and California. Many of them conditioned their support for the package on lifting or raising the cap on these deductions. Moderates will brand this as a big win.

MORE: Trump meets with GOP holdouts as negotiations over agenda bill falter

Maga Savings Account: The amendment changes the names of these accounts. Instead of MAGA Accounts, they will now be called "Trump" Accounts. The president's last name appears in the manager's amendment +50 times.

Expedited cuts to clean energy credits: Some of Biden-era clean energy tax credits will phase out sooner, allowing Republicans to recoup costs to apply toward the overall cost of the bill. To receive credits, new projects must break ground within 60 days or be "placed in service" by the end of 2028.

Billions in border security reimbursements: The Department of Homeland Security appropriates $12 billion to states for costs associated with Biden-era border actions through September 30, 2029. The DHS Secretary can authorize grants to assist with immigration enforcement.

Ends tax on silencers: The manager's amendment delists silencers from the National Firearms Act, effectively ending a tax on transferring silencers

Supreme Court blocks Oklahoma from launching taxpayer-funded religious charter school

The ruling was a rare 4-4 deadlock after Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused

The Supreme Court issued a one-line opinion upholding the Oklahoma Supreme Court's ruling that taxpayer-funded religious schools would violate both the state and U.S. constitutions.

"The judgment is affirmed by an equally divided Court," the Supreme Court wrote in an unsigned ruling, so it is not known how each justice voted on the issue.

The court action leaves in place lower court rulings that said the arrangement would have violated the establishment clause of the First Amendment.

MORE: Supreme Court to decide if Oklahoma religious charter school is constitutional

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen, April 7, 2025 in Washington.

Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images

The decision is a setback for a religious freedom movement that has notched major gains in recent years under the Supreme Court's current conservative majority, including rulings allowing the use of taxpayer-funded school vouchers, scholarships, and capital improvement grants by religious organizations.

The ruling is almost certainly not the final word on the issue, however.

Because the Supreme Court divided evenly, its decision is not a binding precedent nationwide and sets the stage for the entire court to reconsider the issue in a future case, perhaps from another state.

The decision is being greeted with relief by advocates for public schools and independent charter schools, who feared that a ruling in favor of St. Isidore of Seville, the Oklahoma Catholic school, would create major disruptions to education systems nationwide.

Forty-five states have charter school programs, encompassing 8,000 schools that serve 3.8 million kids.

Some states, opposed to funding of religious charter schools, had warned they may be forced to curtail their charter programs or end them entirely.