The US House of Representatives is working through the night as Donald Trump and his allies try to pressurise holdouts in the president’s own Republican Party to back his mega-bill on tax and spending in a final vote.
The sprawling legislation, which could define Trump’s second term in office, passed a key procedural vote after 03:00 EDT (07:00 GMT).
Trump’s bill has been opposed not only by opposition Democrats, but by a handful of Republicans who criticise its potential impact on national finances, healthcare and other issues.
The bill ground through the Senate earlier this week in another overnight session. Trump has given a deadline of Friday for a final version to reach him for sign-off.
Both chambers of Congress are controlled by Trump’s Republicans, but within the party several factions are fighting over key policies in the lengthy legislation.
The bill will extend tax cuts from 2017 that were due to expire and it partly pays for those through cuts to Medicaid which is the government’s health insurance scheme for low-income Americans.
It also boosts spending in two areas central to Trump’s agenda – border security and defence.
The bill narrowly cleared the Senate, or upper chamber, on Tuesday.
It then headed to the House where, after about seven hours of wrangling late into Wednesday night, it cleared a procedural vote that allows the legislation to be brought to the floor for a full vote.
The president has been very involved in attempting to persuade the holdouts and held several meetings at the White House on Wednesday in hopes of winning them over.
On Wednesday, he took to social media to apply further pressure, saying that the “House is ready to vote tonight”. He added that Republicans are “united” to deliver “massive growth”.
Ralph Norman, a House Republican from South Carolina, attended one of the meetings but was not persuaded, further fuelling the overnight jeopardy for Trump and his allies.
Sticking points have included the question of how much the bill will add to the US national deficit, and how deeply it will cut healthcare and other social programmes.
During previous signs of rebellion against Trump at Congress, Republican lawmakers have ultimately fallen in line, and they now look likely to do so in the final House vote.
What is at stake this time is the defining piece of legislation for Trump’s second term. But several factions have stood in its way as the bill has worked through Congress.