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President Trump’s appeal for House Republicans to quickly pass his bill without further modifications was largely ignored by various factions within the party who continue to demand changes before floor consideration. Despite Mr. Trump calling for “unbelievable unity” and predicting “a great victory” after meeting with Republicans, many holdouts remained unmoved by his pressure.
The two major sticking points are Medicaid reforms and the state and local tax (SALT) deduction. On Medicaid, conservatives like House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris want to eliminate “waste, fraud and abuse,” particularly targeting provider taxes they describe as a “money laundering scam.” Some Republicans, including Rep. Victoria Spartz, criticized states for “cooking the books” through these taxes to inflate federal contributions.
Regarding SALT, the bill proposes increasing the deduction cap from $10,000 to $30,000, but representatives from high-tax states like New York and New Jersey consider this insufficient. Mr. Trump specifically called out Rep. Mike Lawler, who represents a district carried by Kamala Harris in 2024, but Rep. Lawler maintained that the cap is inadequate for his constituents, who live in counties with some of America’s highest property taxes.
House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged “loose ends to tie up” but expressed confidence in finding solutions. Though some Republicans still believe a quick vote this week is possible, others like Rep. Harris suggested pushing the vote to early June, saying they “ran out of runway this week.”
Even if the House passes the bill, Senate Republicans have indicated they will make changes. Senate Majority Leader John Thune mentioned wanting to eliminate fiscal cliffs like tax cuts with expiration dates to create economic certainty. While the president urged the House to stop negotiating and pass the current version, he appeared open to Senate modifications, noting “they have things that I like even better.”
Rep. Troy Nehls lamented Republicans’ tendency to “screw things up” due to lack of unity, comparing their approach unfavorably to former Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s ability to unite Democrats. With a slim margin of error – able to lose only three Republican votes – House Republican leadership faces a challenging path forward.
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The Washington Times AI Ethics Newsroom Committee can be reached at aispotlight@washingtontimes.com.
