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Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Report: The conservatives expected to cave on Trump's megabill
By As Congress barrels towards the self-imposed July 4th deadline to pass President Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' some Republicans are vowing a vote against it, potentially tanking the seismic signature legislation of the White House. Insiders on Capitol Hill think they're bluffing - and see most climbing aboard at the last possible moment. 'Most of these guys will eventually cave,' one House GOP aide told the Daily Mail. 'It's not about principles anymore, it's just thirsty members knowing how to get as much attention as possible.' A handful of Republicans in Congress have taken some issue with the current format of Trump's marquee policy agenda, called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB). Their bicameral concerns vary from the overregulation of AI , Medicaid cuts, rural hospital funding and deficit reduction. Republican Representatives Chip Roy, Andy Harris, Victoria Spartz and more were named by Capitol Hill sources as those most likely to flip and back the bill despite their noisy opposition. Harris and Roy, for example, threatened to hold up the OBBB in the House before ultimately voting for it in late May. This week, the Trump administration has ramped up the pressure, deploying a slew of social media posts by the president on top of visits from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Capitol Hill. Once the Senate figures out its version and Trump decides to personally apply more pressure, Capitol Hill aides believe the hardheaded opposition will eventually melt away like a popsicle on a summer city sidewalk. 'The biggest bluffers are the Medicaid moderates,' a senior House GOP aide told the Daily Mail, adding that Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska is one of the Republicans most upset by Medicaid reforms. A former Senate GOP aide shared that most lawmakers will choose to avoid the president's wrath when the rubber meets the road. 'Of course most of the holdouts will eventually back President Trump and vote for the bill,' the former aide told the Daily Mail. 'Even though their constituents probably agree with a lot of their objections —they will rightly calculate that the political risk of drawing President Trump's ire or failing to stop huge tax hikes would far outweigh the reward of a protest vote.' The former staffer added: 'President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will pass, warts and all.' The House passed its version of the OBBB in late May by just a single vote. Multiple Republicans defected at the time and voted against the over 1,000-page bill because it was not conservative enough. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the House-passed OBBB framework carries an eye-watering price tag of $2.4 - $2.77 trillion. Though that price is likely to change once the Senate finishes its version of the bill. Reps. Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson were the lone GOPers to vote 'no' on the bill over concerns on how the package will impact the deficit. The bill is now with the Senate, and the tweaks made by GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber have made some House members fume. In addition, the Senate Parliamentarian struck down key Republican provisions in the reconciliation bill, declaring they cannot remain in the bill due to Senate rules. One of those provisions slashed is meant to prevent illegal immigrants from collecting Medicaid - a move that has enraged many House lawmakers, and even prompted many to call for the parliamentarian's removal from her post. There are multiple internal GOP factions currently vying for different additions and cuts to the mega-bill. Many Republican moderates have expressed distaste with deep Medicaid cuts, members of the House Freedom Caucus - a conservative cohort of the lower chamber - are upset with the spending levels and lawmakers in blue states are most concerned with state and local tax (SALT) reforms. 'You have so many [Republicans] trying to inject themselves into the Senate's process by drawing red lines it's laughable,' the senior House GOP aide shared. 'It's true the Senate has had significant setbacks with the parliamentarian, but these House guys' posturing is setting themselves up for a rude awakening.' In the House, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is upset with an AI provision that would hamper states' ability to regulate the nascent tech. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris and Reps. Chip Roy and Ralph Norman, meanwhile, have decried the price tag of the overall bill. 'Chip Roy will for sure,' buckle and vote for the bill under pressure, the GOP House aide shared, adding that Harris would also fold. 'We didn't realize demanding fiscal responsibility, opposing trillion-dollar deficit hikes, and fighting swamp subsidies counted as 'bluffing,"' a source familiar with the HFC chairman responded. New York Republican Nick Lalota has said he's a 'no for now' until SALT reforms are made. Other 'bluffers' who will eventually back the OBBB despite previously voicing doubts include Rep. Victoria Spartz, Tim Burchett, Eric Burlison and Josh Breechen. 'The Senate version, as it stands currently, cuts out many of the key provisions from the House bill that the President wanted,' a spokesperson for Burchett told the Daily Mail. 'The Congressman always votes his conscience, and will continue to do so when it is time to vote on the OBBB.' Still, most House Republicans say they are flexible and are waiting to see the final text passed by the Senate. A crop of upper chamber Republicans are also making a fuss. GOP Sens. Josh Hawley, Thom Tillis, Lisa Murkoswki, Susan Collins and Jerry Moran have all expressed concern over a provider tax provision that could cut funding to rural hospitals. A Senate GOP aide told the Daily Mail Tillis, who faces re-election in 2026, will fold '100 percent.' 'He has to vote for it or else Trump will support a primary challenger,' they added, noting a longstanding feud between Trump and the North Carolina senator. As the Senate continues to finalize its version of the bill, time is running out. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said this week he hopes to have the chamber vote on the OBBB on Saturday, however, it's unclear whether the text of the measure will be ready. Should the Senate pass the bill by then, the House would have to sprint to align itself with all of the changes before July 4th on next Friday.
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The big beautiful BLUFFERS: Here are the conservatives expected to cave on BBB once Trump cranks up the pressure
As Congress barrels towards the self-imposed July 4th deadline to pass President Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' some Republicans are vowing a vote against it, potentially tanking the seismic signature legislation of the White House. Insiders on Capitol Hill think they're bluffing - and see most climbing aboard at the last possible moment. 'Most of these guys will eventually cave,' one House GOP aide told the Daily Mail. 'It's not about principles anymore, it's just thirsty members knowing how to get as much attention as possible.' A handful of Republicans in Congress have taken some issue with the current format of Trump's marquee policy agenda, called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB). Their bicameral concerns vary from the overregulation of AI, Medicaid cuts, rural hospital funding and deficit reduction. Republican Representatives Chip Roy, Andy Harris, Victoria Spartz and more were named by Capitol Hill sources as those most likely to flip and back the bill despite their noisy opposition. Harris and Roy, for example, threatened to hold up the OBBB in the House before ultimately voting for it in late May. This week, the Trump administration has ramped up the pressure, deploying a slew of social media posts by the president on top of visits from Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to Capitol Hill. Once the Senate figures out its version and Trump decides to personally apply more pressure, Capitol Hill aides believe the hardheaded opposition will eventually melt away like a popsicle on a summer city sidewalk. 'The biggest bluffers are the Medicaid moderates,' a senior House GOP aide told the Daily Mail, adding that Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska is one of the Republicans most upset by Medicaid reforms. A former Senate GOP aide shared that most lawmakers will choose to avoid the president's wrath when the rubber meets the road. 'Of course most of the holdouts will eventually back President Trump and vote for the bill,' the former aide told the Daily Mail. 'Even though their constituents probably agree with a lot of their objections —they will rightly calculate that the political risk of drawing President Trump's ire or failing to stop huge tax hikes would far outweigh the reward of a protest vote.' The former staffer added: 'President Trump's Big Beautiful Bill will pass, warts and all.' The House passed its version of the OBBB in late May by just a single vote. Multiple Republicans defected at the time and voted against the over 1,000-page bill because it was not conservative enough. According to estimates from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), the House-passed OBBB framework carries an eye-watering price tag of $2.4 - $2.77 trillion. Though that price is likely to change once the Senate finishes its version of the bill. Reps. Thomas Massie and Warren Davidson were the lone GOPers to vote 'no' on the bill over concerns on how the package will impact the deficit. The bill is now with the Senate, and the tweaks made by GOP lawmakers in the upper chamber have made some House members fume. In addition, the Senate Parliamentarian struck down key Republican provisions in the reconciliation bill, declaring they cannot remain in the bill due to Senate rules. One of those provisions slashed is meant to prevent illegal immigrants from collecting Medicaid - a move that has enraged many House lawmakers, and even prompted many to call for the parliamentarian's removal from her post. There are multiple internal GOP factions currently vying for different additions and cuts to the mega-bill. Many Republican moderates have expressed distaste with deep Medicaid cuts, members of the House Freedom Caucus - a conservative cohort of the lower chamber - are upset with the spending levels and lawmakers in blue states are most concerned with state and local tax (SALT) reforms. 'You have so many [Republicans] trying to inject themselves into the Senate's process by drawing red lines it's laughable,' the senior House GOP aide shared. 'It's true the Senate has had significant setbacks with the parliamentarian, but these House guys' posturing is setting themselves up for a rude awakening.' In the House, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is upset with an AI provision that would hamper states' ability to regulate the nascent tech. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris and Reps. Chip Roy and Ralph Norman, meanwhile, have decried the price tag of the overall bill. 'Chip Roy will for sure,' buckle and vote for the bill under pressure, the GOP House aide shared, adding that Harris would also fold. 'We didn't realize demanding fiscal responsibility, opposing trillion-dollar deficit hikes, and fighting swamp subsidies counted as 'bluffing,"' a source familiar with the HFC chairman responded. New York Republican Nick Lalota has said he's a 'no for now' until SALT reforms are made. Other 'bluffers' who will eventually back the OBBB despite previously voicing doubts include Rep. Victoria Spartz, Tim Burchett, Eric Burlison and Josh Breechen. 'The Senate version, as it stands currently, cuts out many of the key provisions from the House bill that the President wanted,' a spokesperson for Burchett told the Daily Mail. 'The Congressman always votes his conscience, and will continue to do so when it is time to vote on the OBBB.' Still, most House Republicans say they are flexible and are waiting to see the final text passed by the Senate. A crop of upper chamber Republicans are also making a fuss. GOP Sens. Josh Hawley, Thom Tillis, Lisa Murkoswki, Susan Collins and Jerry Moran have all expressed concern over a provider tax provision that could cut funding to rural hospitals. A Senate GOP aide told the Daily Mail Tillis, who faces re-election in 2026, will fold '100 percent.' 'He has to vote for it or else Trump will support a primary challenger,' they added, noting a longstanding feud between Trump and the North Carolina senator. As the Senate continues to finalize its version of the bill, time is running out. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said this week he hopes to have the chamber vote on the OBBB on Saturday, however, it's unclear whether the text of the measure will be ready. Should the Senate pass the bill by then, the House would have to sprint to align itself with all of the changes before July 4th on next Friday. The president plans on hosting a ceremony at the White House on Independence Day to sign the landmark legislation, though if the Senate delays its vote - and therefore the vote in the House - Trump may not get his desired celebration. 'It's important. It's not the end all. We can go longer,' Trump said of the July 4th deadline for the OBBB on Friday. 'But, we'd like to get it done by that time if possible.'
CNBC
2 days ago
- Politics
- CNBC
Rep. Chip Roy: Senate tax bill 'needs to improve' before it comes back to the House
Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) joins 'Squawk Box' to discuss the fate of the President Trump's mega bill, how the Senate Republican tax bill stack up against the House Republican's version of the same bill, sticking points in negotiations, Medicaid reforms, and more.
Fox News
2 days ago
- Business
- Fox News
White House says Congress debating ‘footnotes' on ‘Big Beautiful Bill,' not expecting major changes
Despite the policy challenges facing President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," White House Director of the National Economic Council, Kevin Hassett, was unfazed, telling Fox News Digital on Wednesday that he doesn't "expect that there's going to be any issue" with current language in the legislation. "I think that what's going on right now is that people are going through really, almost basically, the footnotes," Hassett said in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. "They're arguing over last-minute language." Hassett's comments come after reports that House GOP members are concerned about the version of the bill coming out of the Senate, which would make its way to the House shortly after. House Republican Chip Roy, R-Texas, posted to X on Tuesday that if the rumors he was hearing about the Senate version were true, he "would not vote for it as it is." With thin margins in both the House and Senate, consensus among Republicans is critical. The first version of the "One Big Beautiful Bill" passed the House last month by just one vote. As to the pendulum swing between the two chambers, Hassett raised no concerns with congressional drama, saying he doesn't "expect that there's going to be any issue there at all." "I've been briefed on the difference between the Senate and the House language on this matter," Hasset told Fox. "And the differences are incredibly small, and so I don't expect that there's going to be any issue there at all." Hassett also made clear the main elements of President Trump's agenda are "hardwired into the bill" and that current debates are just items "around the edges" of the White House's key proponents. "We're making the president's first tax cuts permanent," Hassett explained. "No tax on overtime, no tax tips, no tax on social security, we're securing the border, we're building the Golden Dome. All that stuff is hardwired into the bill." "What they're arguing about now is stuff around the edges of that." The president himself has pushed hard for the legislation to be passed quickly, and asked Congress to work toward having the bill signed into law by the Fourth of July. "We must finish the job here at home by passing "THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL," and getting the Bill to my desk, ASAP, Trump posted to Truth Social. "It will be a Historic Present for THE GREAT PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, as we begin the Celebration of our Country's 250th Birthday." Sources tell Fox the Senate vote on the legislation will most likely be taking place this Friday. It will then head back to the House as the president's July 4th deadline looms.
The Hill
18-06-2025
- Business
- The Hill
Senate's ‘big, beautiful bill' faces House headwinds: ‘This is political stupidity'
The Senate GOP's version of the 'big, beautiful bill' is facing major headwinds in the House as a growing number of lawmakers stake opposition to the legislation, a troubling sign for Republican leaders as they try to fast-track the package full of President Trump's legislative priorities. The Senate Finance Committee on Monday released the final piece of text for the upper chamber's edition of the legislation. It changed key parts of the House's blueprint, including beefing up Medicaid cuts, softening the rollback of green energy tax credits and decreasing the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap — a troika of tweaks prompting significant pushback across the House GOP conference. 'My main takeaway for you guys is this bill, as the Senate has produced it, is definitely dead if it were to come over to the House in anything resembling its current form,' Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a vocal member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told reporters on a press call. He said GOP leadership's self-imposed Independence Day deadline is 'a real question at this point.' 'The bill won't move through the House as it is,' the Texas Republican added. 'You have a significant problem with respect to deficits. You have a significant problem with respect to the Inflation Reduction Act. You still have a problem, in my opinion, on Medicaid, even though it maybe made a slight move in the right direction. And then there's a myriad other factors.' Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), who switched from a Democrat to a Republican in 2020, also tore into the Senate's bill, taking issue with a provision that would decrease the amount of Medicaid funding states receive. 'This is political stupidity; it's political suicide. Why would you hurt these people?' Van Drew told The Hill. 'There are a lot of working poor, blue-collar people. There are people now — they were part of this new Republican Party, and we should make sure that they're safe not only for political reasons but also for the right thing to do.' 'I'm not voting for that. That's gotta be straightened out,' he added of the Senate's bill. 'I would be a no. I can't see myself voting for that.' The early opposition is a harrowing state of play for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who can only afford to lose three votes and muscle the legislation through his razor-thin majority, assuming full attendance and unanimous Democratic opposition. The Speaker had not commented on the Senate's text as of Tuesday evening. The Senate, to be sure, can still tweak its bill to win over support, but that would require significant changes that leaders are signaling they have no appetite for. On Medicaid, for example, some centrist House Republicans are griping about the upper chamber's decision to cap provider taxes at 3.5 percent by 2031 — a decrease from the current 6 percent — for states that expanded the social safety net program under the Affordable Care Act. The decrease would begin in 2027 and be phased out by 0.5 percent annually. Van Drew said he wants the provider tax to remain at 6 percent. He pointed to the House bill, which froze the provider tax at current rates while also implementing work requirements for nondisabled individuals. 'This will hurt people. That's how simple the formula is,' Van Drew said of the Senate's proposal. 'You don't want to hurt people that shouldn't be hurt. This will hurt people that shouldn't be hurt, because the hospitals are going to have to make cuts.' Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), however, backed the provision Tuesday — even as some moderates in his own ranks express concerns — describing the reform as a way to 'rebalance the program in a way that provides the right incentives to cover the people who are supposed to be covered by Medicaid.' 'But we continue to hear from our members specifically on components or pieces of the bill that they would like to see modified or changed or have concerns about, and we're working through that,' he added. 'But at the end, I mean, the goal is — as you all know — is to get 51 here in the United States Senate and 218 in the House, and so ultimately that's the math that I'm working with, that we're all working with. We want to get a bill out of the Senate, through the House and on the president's desk.' The Senate bill's rollback of green energy tax credits, meanwhile, has emerged as a pain point on the right flank. The upper chamber's legislation still takes a sledgehammer to many of the provisions enacted in the Democrats' inflation Reduction Act (IRA), but it appears to offer more flexibility. The legislation, for example, appears to eliminate a provision that would have required climate-friendly energy sources to begin construction within 60 days of the bill's enactment to qualify for the credits, which was considered one of the most stringent energy conditions in the bill. Instead, the Senate's measure requires projects, including solar panels and wind farms, to start construction by the end of this year to receive the full credit. Roy — who warned for weeks that he would not support the legislation if it watered down the elimination of green energy tax credits approved by Democrats in 2022 — slammed the changes. 'We have major backsliding on the Inflation Reduction Act 'green new scam' subsidies,' he told reporters on a press call. 'We're trying to just get even half at this point of the reductions the IRA locked in place, and now the Senate is pushing back on that. That's a real problem.' That position aligns with the statement members of the Freedom Caucus board released earlier this month, after the House approved the megabill, warning they would 'not accept' an attempt by the upper chamber to 'water down, strip out, or walk back the hard-fought spending reductions and IRA Green New Scam rollbacks achieved in this legislation.' Rounding out the House's three main areas of concern is the Senate's $10,000 SALT deduction cap, which is causing considerable consternation among moderate House Republicans from high-tax blue states. Those lawmakers — mainly members hailing from New York, New Jersey and California — engaged in painstaking negotiations with Johnson for months to land on a $40,000 deduction cap for individuals making $500,000 or less. Thune, for his part, told reporters Monday that the $10,000 cap is a 'marker' for negotiations with House Republicans, adding that the two camps will 'figure out a landing spot.' But House Republicans in the SALT Caucus are warning they will not accept any cap below the $40,000 level, threatening to tank the entire package. If SALT is not addressed by the end of the year, members have noted, the deduction cap would return to unlimited — where it was before the 2017 Trump tax cuts bill put the $10,000 cap in place — a reality they would be thrilled with. 'The $10,000 provision in the Senate bill is dead on arrival in the House,' Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) told The Hill on Tuesday. '[It] does not acknowledge the hard work and compromise House members did for four months to get to $40,000 and the Senate has a choice now: It's either $40,000 or unlimited, because anything less than $40,000 will crash the bill and SALT will come back as unlimited next year.' He is offering his Senate colleagues an ultimatum: 'The ball is in the Senate's court, but the time to negotiate on SALT is over, the House has already done that. … It's now $40,000 or unlimited.'
