Republicans reject Donald Trump's tax-cut bill after president calls for unity

Five of 21 Republicans on the panel voted to block the measure, saying they would continue to withhold support unless Speaker Mike Johnson agreed to further cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for lower-income Americans and the full repeal of green energy tax cuts implemented by Democrats

President Donald Trump speaks during a business roundtable in Doha, Qatar. File picture: Alex Brandon/AP

US president Donald Trump's sweeping tax bill failed to clear a key procedural hurdle on Friday, as hardline Republicans demanding deeper spending cuts blocked the measure in a rare political setback for the Republican president in Congress.

The vote in the House Budget Committee came despite Trump's call for Republicans to "UNITE behind" the legislation. "We don't need 'GRANDSTANDERS' in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!" he said in a social media post.