House Majority Leader Steve Scalise suggested the stakes for passing the House version of the budget reconciliation package are nothing short of apocalyptic. “You didn’t come up here to vote no and let America crash and burn,” Scalise said of his message to members still holding out on a deal.
Fresh from the House GOP’s morning meeting with President Donald Trump, Scalise provided an update on the ongoing budget reconciliation negotiations at a Tuesday afternoon briefing hosted by Americans for Prosperity (AFP).
“If we don’t come together, none of this happens and America just goes into a death spiral,” Scalise claimed at another point.
Scalise also shed more light on the message Trump delivered to the House GOP this morning. “What President Trump talked about is, look, these are all the things we ran on that we said we would do,’” Scalise said, paraphrasing the president. “‘Now’s the time to do it. The time for debating, for negotiating is over.’”
Nevertheless, Scalise said members packed into the conference meeting are “still trying to negotiate,” and attempting to delay voting on the package while negotiations continue over the Memorial Day recess.
“What President Trump said this morning, that I thought was the most important message, is all these issues, SALT, Medicaid, all the open-ended things that we can negotiate for months and months and not make any room on because we’ve already been negotiating them. It’s time to make the deal. It’s time to close the deal and vote,” Scalise continued. “Let’s vote on this bill.”
Nevertheless, rumors continue to fly around Capitol Hill about last-minute twists and tweaks that could get the package over the line, such as alterations to the state and local tax deduction or Medicaid.
“What President Trump was talking about today, as it relates to SALT and as it relates to Medicaid, is we have pushed both sides very far,” Scalise said of the effort to whip members for the bill. Scalise noted that some of the bill’s potential holdouts, like Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, make “great arguments.”
“I was on a call with Chip on Saturday for over an hour,” Scalise noted. “I agree with all the points he made. But I said I can name 20 members right now who just aren’t there. If you can get those 20 members—and by the way, Chip and I have both been in meetings with those members multiple times on these issues, and they’re not budging.”
While Scalise offered a carrot to the conservatives concerned Republicans are not cutting government deep enough, he also dangled a stick to members who potentially vote no: “I can tell you who is voting no. AOC, Nancy Pelosi, [Rashida] Talib, [Ilhan] Omar, [Jasmine] Crockett, you want me to continue going on? Do you want to be on that list? Because that’s the list you’re going to be on if you vote no.”
“You had the opportunity to get the best deal you can and then vote yes to save this great country, that’s what we came here to do,” Scalise said. “Make your best deal and then vote yes.”
On Tuesday, Trump put pressure on the GOP factions that continue to threaten delaying or preventing the passage of the budget reconciliation package. A senior White House official told Politico that the president “made it clear he’s losing patience with all holdout factions of the House Republican Conference.”
Trump “wants EVERY Republican to vote yes,” the official added.
Trump’s message to conservatives, according to unnamed Republican lawmakers who spoke to Politico, was “don’t f**k around with Medicaid.”
To House moderates holding out on the bill for a larger SALT deduction, Trump reportedly said to take the deal currently on the table and “leave it alone.”
Despite these harsh messages, Republicans, especially conservative members concerned about the national debt and deficit, walked away with a positive impression of the morning meeting.
Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told The Daily Signal after the meeting that, “I think that the groups need to get together and talk it out, because I think President Trump made some very valid points.” Biggs, however, remains noncommittal on the bill.
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., told The Daily Signal that he agreed with the president’s assessment on Medicaid.
“When it comes to us, the Freedom Caucus, he said just stick to the waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid. And he’s right,” Burlison said. “Everyone agrees that there’s waste, fraud, and abuse. I think it’s inappropriate for us to say we’re not going to touch it, and then leave all of this fraud that’s happening.”
As for the SALT caucus, Burlison said the president “was pretty blunt.”
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., also spoke with The Daily Signal after the meeting. “It’s close, but the SALT talk—I want to get the numbers on SALT of exactly what they’re saying. But I think we’re getting really close,” he said.
Time is of the essence, as the House Rules Committee is slated to begin its mark up of the “big, beautiful bill” at 1 o’clock in the morning on Wednesday. The committee is expected to work through the night to put the finishing touches on the package.
