Trump tax bill hits Republican resistance in House ahead of vote

Japan Times

3 days ago

U.S. President Donald Trump's multitrillion-dollar tax bill is running into Republican resistance in the House as moderate and ultra-conservative GOP lawmakers threaten to defy him and sink his domestic agenda.
House lawmakers are returning to Washington from a holiday week to vote Wednesday on the Senate version of the bill, which squeaked through that chamber on Vice President JD Vance's tie-breaking vote.
The House passed its own version of the measure in May by a one-vote margin. But several Republicans who were strong-armed into voting for that bill are now vowing to oppose the Senate-passed measure, putting Trump's self-imposed July 4 deadline at risk.
House Speaker Mike Johnson can afford to lose only three Republican votes in the face of unified Democratic opposition, if all members are present and voting. Republicans Warren Davidson and Thomas Massie, who voted against the bill in May, remain firm no votes.
Johnson's No. 2, Steve Scalise, projected optimism on Tuesday. "We're going to get it done tomorrow,' he told reporters.
But Rep. Chip Roy, a hard-line conservative who balked at the cost of the House's earlier bill but ultimately supported it, said "a significant number' of lawmakers are concerned about the Senate version of the bill.
"I have very strong concerns and am not very inclined to support,' the Texas Republican said.
Rep. Chip Roy, a hard-line conservative, said "a significant number' of lawmakers are concerned about the Senate version of the bill. |
Bloomberg
The GOP holdouts are pushing for major — and sometimes competing — changes to the Senate bill, including some troubled by the scale of Medicaid cuts and others demanding deeper spending reductions. Still, House Ways and Means chairman Jason Smith said Tuesday that he's confident the bill will pass.
Trump, the GOP's most forceful whip, quickly turned his attention from the Senate to the House, putting public pressure on Republicans to back the bill.
"We can have all of this right now, but only if the House GOP UNITES, ignores its occasional "GRANDSTANDERS' (You know who you are!)' Trump posted on Tuesday.
Ultraconservatives
Several ultraconservatives in the House Freedom Caucus are among the loudest naysayers, vowing to oppose the bill over the deficit increases projected by the Joint Committee on Taxation.
Freedom Caucus member Andy Ogles called the current version a "dud' that "guts key Trump provisions' to comply with strict Senate rules. Certain parts of the House bill were scrapped in the Senate because of a fast-track procedural tactic that allowed for a simple majority vote.
Ogles introduced an amendment to replace the entire bill with the House version passed in May. But any changes to the legislation would need to be reconciled with the Senate, a process that could take weeks given the tight margins.
Rep. Ralph Norman said he would vote no, adding that it's "tough sledding' if the Senate-passed bill goes to the floor. Rep. Victoria Spartz, who frequently waffles on her positions, went so far as to say the chamber will have a "decision to make' if Johnson brings the Senate bill to the floor, signaling his speakership could be in jeopardy.
Moderates
The Senate has already negotiated a deal with the House on one of the most contentious provisions for swing-district Republicans: the state and local tax deduction cap.
Rep. Ralph Norman said he would vote no, adding that it's "tough sledding' if the Senate-passed bill goes to the floor. |
bloomberg
The Senate bill increases the SALT cap to $40,000 annually for a five-year period, when it would then snap back to the current $10,000 limit. The House bill was more generous amid pushback from Republicans from New York, California and New Jersey.
Most of the so-called SALT caucus ultimately supported the Senate deal as the best they could get. But New York's Nick LaLota has said the deal isn't enough and that he would vote no on the bill.
Moderates are also blasting the deeper Medicaid cuts in the Senate bill.
"I will not support a final bill that eliminates vital funding streams our hospitals rely on, including provider taxes and state directed payments, or any provisions that punish expansion states,' Rep. David Valadao wrote in a post on X Friday.
Valadao led a group of 16 House Republicans who pledged not to support the bill if the Senate chose to slash the Medicaid provider tax rate beyond a permanent freeze at 6%.
States often use the provider taxes, within some already existing rules, to help defray their Medicaid matching fund requirements, allowing them to bring in more federal money to make Medicaid payments to providers and expand coverage.
Republican senators included a gradual reduction in the tax to medical providers to a final 3.5%, unleashing an internal debate about how rural hospitals would cope with the changes.
The bill added a $50 billion fund for rural hospitals after objections from Sens. Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins and Josh Hawley. It's unclear if it will satisfy House skeptics, some of whom represent districts in metropolitan areas.
Murkowski, a holdout in the Senate who pivoted to a yes vote in the final hours, told reporters after the final vote that she hopes the House continues to make changes.
"The House is going look at this and recognize that we're not done yet,' Murkowski said after hours of negotiation for her vote with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Majority Whip John Barrasso. "I would like to see a better outcome for people in this country.'