House Republican leaders are bringing in their biggest gun Tuesday as they race to pacify critics and pass their “big, beautiful bill” in the coming days.
Where things stand: Blue-state Republicans emerged from a late Monday meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson without a deal on a state-and-local-tax deduction, feeling uncertain if they could clinch a final agreement. It’s one of many hangups GOP leaders have to resolve before Rules meets on the bill at 1 a.m. Wednesday, with a House floor vote to eventually follow.
Now Johnson’s finally playing the Trump card. The president is expected to speak to members during Tuesday’s 8:30 a.m. conference meeting. “I think you’re going to see the squeeze come,” Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) predicted in an interview with former Rep. Matt Gaetz Monday night.
GOP leaders hope Trump can dissuade some hard-liners from putting up a bigger fight over requests like deeper Medicaid cuts and a complete repeal of IRA clean-energy tax credits, while convincing the SALT crew to finally take a deal.
Johnson said Monday night he expects “lots of encouragement to get this thing done” from the president Tuesday. Asked if he wants Trump to give direction on Medicaid, Johnson said, “I think he already has.”
They might need some more clarification. After a meeting with moderates, Johnson said so-called FMAP changes affecting state reimbursement rates aren’t on the table — and haven’t been for some time. But Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (Md.) said he thinks FMAP is “the simplest way” to meet hard-liners’ Medicaid demands and suggested they’re ready to hold out longer to get what they want.
Some good news for Johnson: The early-morning Rules meeting might not be a roadblock, after all. Republicans can lose two votes on the committee, and Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.), one of four Republicans whose initial opposition to the megabill delayed a Budget Committee vote, said Monday he would advance it in Rules. (Texas Rep. Chip Roy, another hard-liner on the committee, told Mia he still has “major issues.”)
But the speaker still faces tough math on the floor — and tough dynamics as he tries to close a deal. Giving one faction what they want on SALT and Medicaid could drive another faction away from an agreement. “The more SALT that they want, the more my appetite for finding savings in other places [grows],” Freedom Caucus Rep. Eric Burlison (Mo.) said on Monday.
What else we’re watching:
— House Judiciary ICE hearing: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his leadership team are slamming the DOJ for charging Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) with assault Monday in connection with a chaotic confrontation outside an ICE detention facility in New Jersey earlier this month. That’s setting up a contentious House Judiciary hearing Tuesday examining ICE operations.
— Billy Long on the Hill: Former Rep. Billy Long will testify in front of Senate Finance Tuesday in his quest for confirmation as IRS commissioner. Republicans are expected to press Long about his past work pitching a certain pandemic-era tax credit known as the Employee Retention Credit, which was found to be rife with fraudulent claims.
— Thune contemplates CRA: Senate Republicans will announce as soon as Tuesday whether to bring up a Congressional Review Act disapproval resolution that nixes California’s emissions standards waiver. Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), the GOP sponsor of the Senate’s resolution, met Monday night with four Republicans viewed as potential swing votes: Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and John Curtis of Utah.
Hailey Fuchs and Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
