Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) said he missed roll call during a critical vote early Thursday to pass a massive budget bill, with the House speaker later saying he "fell asleep."

Garbarino in a statement to Newsday Thursday morning said he “was moments away from the House floor” and planned to vote yes when the vote was closed on the bill dubbed by President Donald Trump as “one big, beautiful bill.” 

“While I am frustrated that the vote was closed before I was able to cast my vote, I am proud of the work we accomplished to deliver huge results for Long Island,” he said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters Thursday that Garbarino “did not make it in time.”

“He fell asleep in the back, no kidding, I know,” he said. It's unclear whether Johnson meant Garbarino was actually asleep. 

A spokesperson for Garbarino did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the speaker’s claim he had fallen asleep.

In a post on X Tuesday afternoon, Johnson praised Garbarino for his role in the negotiations and said, "if it were not for his unique contributions and tireless efforts, we simply would not have achieved what we have in this Congress." 

The bill narrowly passed 215-214 and now goes to the Senate. Johnson said the goal is to get the bill to the president’s desk by July 4.

Garbarino and Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) had made increasing the SALT cap a central part of their campaigns and legislative action. The bill raises the SALT cap to $40,000 for incomes up to $500,000 after the Long Island representatives recently rejected a proposal for the cap to climb to $30,000.

LaLota said the bill ends a “years-long battle” and raising the cap to $40,000 “means 92% of the families I represent will finally be made whole.”

LaLota said the “long-overdue relief” would save Suffolk residents as much as $8,000 on federal tax returns.

Garbarino said he was "proud to have been the leading voice on Long Island during negotiations on this key reconciliation bill. I fought to lift the cap on SALT and ensure hardworking Long Island families see the benefits of this important legislation."

Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) and Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) voted against the bill along with every other member of the Democratic party. Both have argued the SALT cap should be eliminated.

“The President promised to get SALT back but he did not,” Gillen said in a statement. “The Republican Majority blocked my amendment that would have eliminated the SALT cap, lowering taxes for my constituents and hardworking families across the country. Instead of ending this unfair double taxation, Republicans extended it.”

Suozzi said in an interview that he helped pass previous bills in the House that repealed the cap. But those bills died in the Senate. He said he offered amendments in the current bill to raise it to $80,000 and he he's "still holding out hope" that can happen.

"The game's not over until it's over," he said.

On Garbarino missing the budget vote, Suozzi said, "I feel bad for him. We were all tired." 

The SALT cap has been a divisive issue in Washington and LaLota said during a January news conference a higher cap had “enemies” from both parties. Democratic officials viewed it as “welfare for millionaires” while some Republicans thought of it as a “subsidy” to “bloated state governments.”

The $10,000 cap went into effect during Trump’s first term in 2017 despite the objections of New York lawmakers at the time. GOP leaders had said New York and similar Democratic-led states should aim to reduce state budgets as a way to ease the burden on taxpayers, Newsday previously reported.