Johnson navigates GOP divisions on Trump鈥檚 sweeping domestic agenda
House Republicans are heading into a blockbuster week for President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥渙ne big, beautiful bill,鈥� as Speaker Mike Johnson attempts to stave off a revolt from any one faction of his conference that could tank the sweeping GOP agenda.
House lawmakers will return to Washington on Tuesday to kick off a series of high-stakes committee votes, key hurdles that Republicans must clear for Johnson to pass Trump鈥檚 tax and spending cuts package by Memorial Day, as planned.
A slate of committees must vote to advance pieces of the legislation before it can be assembled into one bill. But there are already warning signs as Johnson and his leadership team are facing friction from both moderates and hardliners. With a slim majority, the speaker will need almost complete unity in his conference to advance the bill 鈥� and many Republicans expect Trump will need to weigh in to deliver the votes.
The committee markups will be the first opportunity for public debate from lawmakers on Capitol Hill since GOP leadership revealed key details of Trump鈥檚 plan on contentious issues like cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, as well as a dense tax package. It鈥檒l also be the first time GOP lawmakers can huddle privately in Washington to plot their next steps.
At least two conservative hardliners, Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, have been publicly critical about what they see as inadequate changes to Medicaid, among other issues.
鈥淚 remain open-minded because progress has been made based on our forceful efforts to force change. But we cannot continue down the path we鈥檝e been going down - and we will need SIGNIFICANT additional changes to garner my support,鈥� Roy posted on X as part of a long list of complaints about the bill.
Then there鈥檚 the so-called SALT Caucus 鈥� a loose coalition of roughly a half-dozen Republicans from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey and California who have sought to repeal the 2017 deduction cap on state and local taxes. GOP tax-writers proposed to triple the current cap on state and local taxes, from $10,000 to $30,000 per year, but it is limited to people who are making $400,000 or less. That $30,000 cap, however, has been a nonstarter for those members.
鈥淥h, hell no, no. We鈥檙e here to fight for a much higher cap on the state and local tax,鈥� Rep. Nick LaLota of New York told CNN last Thursday, when the tax committee was first discussing a $30,000 cap. LaLota after the text was unveiled Monday, reiterating that he remains a 鈥渉ell no.鈥�
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler also said he cannot back the sweeping bill to implement Trump鈥檚 agenda until more favorable terms over the key tax break are negotiated in the proposal.
鈥淎s I have said repeatedly, I will not support any bill that does not adequately lift the cap on SALT,鈥� Lawler told CNN on Monday. 鈥淭his bill as written fails to deliver and will not have my support. I look forward to continuing to negotiate with leadership and the administration to provide real tax relief for my constituents.鈥�
Further complicating matters: One of the GOP lawmakers who has stridently opposed the $30,000 cap is Rep. Elise Stefanik 鈥� a member of Johnson鈥檚 leadership team.
Three key committees, including the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, will hold votes midweek to advance their own slices of Trump鈥檚 big domestic package. That will be followed by another big vote by the end of the week from the fiscally conservative House Budget Committee. A full floor vote in the House could follow as soon as next week.
Democrats, meanwhile, are preparing for marathon committee meetings, particularly on the Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means panels on Tuesday. As Republicans have unveiled details of their plans, Democrats have continued to hammer the claim that millions could lose health coverage under the GOP鈥檚 plan because of changes to Medicaid.
Republicans, however, dispute the Democrats鈥� calculations because the congressional nonpartisan scorekeeper hasn鈥檛 yet weighed in on their specific plan, which was just unveiled late Sunday.
Republicans have outlined big changes to Medicaid, such as work requirements for people who are physically 鈥渃apable鈥� of working, and new $35 co-pays for those enrolled in the program. There鈥檚 also a new restriction on state matching funds for states that allow undocumented immigrants to enroll in state health programs.
Still, the plans revealed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee late Sunday night did not include two of the biggest potential changes to Medicaid that Republicans were weighing 鈥� big cuts to the federal match rates for Medicaid or a push to turn federal dollars into effectively a block grant, in a policy that鈥檚 known as a 鈥減er capita cap.鈥�
Many of the House GOP鈥檚 more moderate members were elated by the committee鈥檚 Medicaid plan 鈥� which they believe represented a big win over their hardliner counterparts.
Energy and Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie has told members that he believes his plan will reach the target of $880 billion in savings that Republicans called for in their budget resolution, and the congressional budget office confirmed it would in a letter Monday. But he has not yet said exactly how, because the panel is still awaiting key documents from the Congressional Budget Office that will help determine the bill鈥檚 overall price tag.
As of Monday night, many Republicans were still digging into the details of the nearly 400-page tax bill. That plan includes some of Trump鈥檚 big campaign promises, including scrapping federal taxes on tips, on overtime pay and on car loan interest. It鈥檚 a big win for Trump, as is the name of the bill 鈥� 鈥淭he One, Big, Beautiful Bill,鈥� adopting the president鈥檚 moniker for the legislation.
As expected, it also includes Trump鈥檚 demand for a debt limit hike, which would cost a total of $4 trillion to punt the problem for another few years. Congress needs to raise the debt limit before its August recess to prevent default and Trump hopes to do so using this bill, rather than strike a deal with Democrats.
The bill includes dozens of tax extensions from Trump鈥檚 2017 tax bill. There鈥檚 also one relatively new idea 鈥� a so-called 鈥淢AGA鈥� savings account for kids under 18 years old. It鈥檚 short for 鈥渕oney account for growth and advancement,鈥� which would create a new, flexible type of tax-free savings account for kids.