The “big, beautiful bill” that Donald Trump wants to pass for the budget is getting held up over several different issues in the House.
So, Trump made a visit to Capitol Hill this week to try to get everyone on the same page, but not everyone in the GOP is buying in.
There are two big issues that are creating pushback on the legislation right now.
The hardliners want assurances that Medicaid will not be touched and that the budget will not only not have a deficit, but that it will start to cut into the country’s debt, and they are not budging.
The second contingent is from blue-state Republicans who want to see the state and local tax (SALT) deduction increased significantly.
One of the key holdouts is Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who has stood up to Trump before, so Trump’s threats will not sway him. Speaker Johnson (R-KY) is going to be forced to address his concerns.
Making cuts to Medicaid that would impact care for Americans is political suicide, and while Donald Trump wants the fraud and waste cut, he does not want to see benefits cut.
To that point, he more or less gave a direct order to the caucus on this front.
During Trump’s closed door meeting with House Republicans, he reportedly told them, “Don’t f**k around with Medicaid.”
However, even after Donald Trump’s “inspiring” speech, Reps. Chip Roy and Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) voted “present” rather than supporting the latest bill.
On Tuesday night, reports broke that the SALT Caucus had reached a tentative deal with Speaker Johnson, significantly raising the SALT deduction.
According to the report, the initial proposal of a $30,000 deduction for those making under $400,000 was increased to a cap of $40,000 that would grow in increments over the next 10 years, and it would be eligible for those making less than $500,000. Additionally, the tax would remain in place at the end of the 10-year span, not be spun back to its original cap.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) reportedly met with Trump about the tax break and he is reportedly endorsing it.
So, this now leaves the hardliners as the only people who need to come to an agreement with Johnson to put a bill on the floor, but that is not going to be easy. The likes of Roy and Rep. Massie (R-KY) will not be swayed by Trump’s threats to primary them if they don’t cave, so this fight is far from over.
