Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly listed which vote U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty missed. She missed the vote on a June 11 funding bill.
U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty’s office confirmed that she plans to be in D.C. in time to vote on President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda bill.
Christine Thompson, spokesperson for Beatty, said the congresswoman expects to fly into D.C. early on July 2.
Beatty, 75, who represents Columbus and surrounding areas in the U.S. House, was among four Democrats not present for a June 11 vote on a contentious bill on funding for public media and foreign aid. That bill narrowly passed 214-212.
Four Republicans — including Dayton-area Rep. Michael Turner — joined with all present Democrats in voting against the measure last month.
Beatty’s office previously told The Dispatch that the representative missed the vote “due to a medical procedure that could not be delayed.” Her office did not provide additional information about the procedure, saying only that she “is in good health.”
Now the House is considering the “Big Beautiful Bill.” After making changes to the massive bill, Senate Republicans narrowly passed that bill with a 50-50 vote on July 1, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote. The bill now heads to the House, where another close vote is expected. GOP leaders said they want to get the bill to Trump’s desk by July 4.
Higher education reporter Sheridan Hendrix can be reached at shendrix@dispatch.com and on Signal at @sheridan.120. You can follow her on Instagram at @sheridanwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Rep. Joyce Beatty expected to vote on Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ after prior absence
Reporting by Sheridan Hendrix, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
