WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson acknowledged there are still details to “iron out” on President Donald Trump’s big tax breaks bill as conservative Republicans insist on quicker cuts to Medicaid and green energy programs before giving their full support.
House Republicans narrowly advanced the sprawling 1,116-page package in a rare weekend vote late Sunday, but just barely, as GOP leaders promise more negotiations ahead.
It’s all setting up a difficult week ahead for the GOP leadership racing toward a Memorial Day deadline, a week away, to pass the package from the House on their own, over staunch opposition from Democrats.
“The bill does not yet meet the moment,” said Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a leader of the House Freedom Caucus, in a social media post immediately after the late-night session. “We can and must do better before we pass the final product.”
Johnson is working to hold his narrow House majority together to pass the president’s top domestic priority of extending the tax breaks while pumping in money for border security and deportations — all while finding at least $1.5 trillion in spending cuts elsewhere.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday it’s “absolutely essential” that Republicans unite and pass the bill so that Trump can deliver on the agenda.
Leavitt said Americans gave Republicans a “once-in-a-generation” opportunity to “course correct our country” and “there is no time to waste.”
Republicans criticizing the measure argued that the bill’s new spending and tax cuts are front-loaded in the bill, while the measures to offset the cost are back-loaded. In particular, they are looking to speed up the new work requirements that Republicans want to enact for able-bodied participants in Medicaid. They also want to more quickly end tax breaks for green energy projects being used nationwide.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise said on CNBC Monday that work requirements for some Medicaid beneficiaries would begin in early 2027, a big change from the 2029 start date that is currently in the bill.
Scalise said GOP leaders are looking to give the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, the time he needs to implement the work requirements, but would be “moving that date up dramatically.”
Late last week, the House Budget Committee failed to advance the package when four conservative Republicans objected. But it was able to do so Sunday on a vote of 17-16, with the four hold-outs voting “present” to allow it to move ahead, as talks continue.
Johnson who met late Sunday with lawmakers ahead of voting indicated he wants to impose the work requirements “as soon as possible” but acknowledged it may take states longer to change their systems.
“There will be more details to iron out and several more to take care of,” Johnson, R-La., said outside the hearing room.
“But I’m looking forward to very thoughtful discussions, very productive discussions over the next few days, and I’m absolutely convinced we’re going to get this in final form and pass it.”
Democrats have decried the cuts Republicans are proposing to Medicaid and food stamps to offset the costs of the tax breaks.
“This spending bill is terrible, and I think the American people know that,” Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., told CNN’s “State of the Union″ on Sunday. “There is nothing wrong with us bringing the government in balance. But there is a problem when that balance comes on the back of working men and women. And that’s what is happening here.”
The four Republicans who had blocked the bill last week — Roy and Reps. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma and Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia — cast their “present” votes Sunday.
Norman pointed to a recent downgrade of the nation’s credit rating in making his arguments for steeper reductions.
“We’ve got a lot more work to do,” Norman said. “We’re excited about what we did. We want to move the bill forward.”
At its core, the sprawling legislative package permanently extends the existing income tax cuts that were approved during Trump’s first term in 2017 and adds temporary new ones that the president campaigned on in 2024, including no taxes on tips, overtime pay and auto loan interest payments. The measure also proposes big spending increases for border security and defense.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group, estimates that the House bill is shaping up to add roughly $3.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade.
Johnson is not just having to address the concerns of the deficit hawks in his party. He’s also facing pressure from centrists who will be warily eyeing the proposed changes to Medicaid, food assistance programs and the rolling back of clean energy tax credits. Republican lawmakers from New York and elsewhere are also demanding a much larger state and local tax deduction.
As it stands, the bill proposes tripling what’s currently a $10,000 cap on the state and local tax deduction, increasing it to $30,000 for joint filers with incomes up to $400,000 a year.
Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the New York lawmakers leading the effort to lift the cap, said they have proposed a deduction of $62,000 for single filers and $124,000 for joint filers.
Rep. Jodey Arrington, the chairman of the House Budget Committee, said the bill remained under negotiation.
“Deliberations continue at this very moment,” Arrington said. “They will continue on into the week, and I suspect right up until the time we put this big, beautiful bill on the floor of the House.”
If the bill passes the House this week, it would then move to the Senate, where Republicans are also eyeing changes.
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Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
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