House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) revealed he is calling President Donald Trump to solidify the final language in the “big, beautiful” tax bill the lower chamber could vote on as soon as Wednesday.
A House Rules Committee hearing on the legislation has been ongoing since 1 a.m. Wednesday and lasted through the night. The Rules Committee must advance the legislation through a vote following the hearing, and the final text, known as the “manager’s amendment,” must be released for it to move to the House floor for a full vote, possibly by Wednesday afternoon.
Johnson said he’s talking to Trump before he brings the manager’s amendment up for a vote. The bill has been negotiated for weeks as Johnson attempts to appease conservative fiscal hawks and blue-state GOP lawmakers in his conference.
Centrist Republicans want a new state and local tax, or SALT, deduction cap, or changes to how much people can deduct from their federal taxes to offset what they pay to state and local tax authorities. The SALT Caucus reached a compromise with Johnson Tuesday evening ahead of a Rules Committee vote.
Republicans in the House Freedom Caucus want steep spending cuts to help reduce the deficit and changes to Medicaid work requirements. Following the overnight meetings Wednesday morning, several House Freedom Caucus members’ opposition to elements of the bill remained strong, possibly crushing Johnson’s hopes of getting the legislation across the finish line before Memorial Day.
Their rebellion comes despite Trump’s warnings to get in line. During a trip to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, the president ordered Republicans not to “f*** around with Medicaid benefits” and also told holdouts not to be “grandstanders,” according to the Washington Post.
Johnson’s goal is to bring the “big, beautiful” bill to the House floor for a full vote on Wednesday, which could only happen if he releases the manager’s text Wednesday morning. The amendment will include the changes negotiated recently. The bill contains nearly $5 trillion in tax cuts, extends Trump’s signature 2017 tax cuts, and ends taxes on tips, overtime wages, and auto loan interest.
Johnson’s urgency comes ahead of Memorial Day, when lawmakers will want to leave Washington for a long holiday weekend.
“We’re almost there, and I’m very optimistic that we will find the right equilibrium point to get this bill delivered,” Johnson said on Monday afternoon. “It’s going to be a big thing for the country.”
But by early Wednesday, several pivotal House Freedom Caucus members had still refused to get behind Johnson’s agenda, voicing particular discontent with the SALT compromise.
“This bill actually got worse overnight, there is no way it passes today. … We may need a couple of weeks to iron everything out, but it’s not going anywhere today,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) said during an interview on Newsmax.
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While lawmakers reached a deal around midnight, agreeing to the House Freedom Caucus’s demands to end “waste, fraud, and abuse” in Medicaid,” the agreement was pulled off the table due to the SALT cap compromise, Harris said.
“I think, actually, we [are] further away from a deal because that SALT cap increase, I think, upset a lot of conservatives,” the Maryland Republican added. “Again, the conservatives are pushing for some balancing spending reductions.”
Lauren Green contributed to this report.
