Republicans have a critical period this week in order to deliver on the Trump agenda

The SALT fight in Congress – a red line for the G.O.P., Rep. Nick LaLota (D-N.Y.)

Republicans are cutting other things to make up for the cost of the legislation. More than eight million low-income Americans could lose their health insurance as a result of the Medicaid cuts that the G.O.P. has drafted, for example. According to the analysis done by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the biggest benefits of the tax cuts would flow to people who owe the most income tax.

Rep. Nick LaLota, R-N.Y., has been a staunch advocate for a higher deduction as part of the bill. He told reporters last week that discussions have “a lot more to go now,” but ultimately he thinks Republicans will reach a deal. The issue is a red line for him and at least four other colleagues. The bill could be doomed by the opposition of the Republicans in the House.

The fight over SALT is expected to be a major sticking point when the Ways and Means committee begins its markup of the bill on Tuesday. The cap on SALT should be removed to $30,000, suggested the committee. GOP legislators in states like New York, New Jersey and California with high local property taxes are pushing for a higher cap. They insist the bill must include a provision with a number north of $30,000.

The limit on the amount taxpayers can deduct from state and local taxes was capped at $10,000 per year by the tax bill. During his 2024 reelection campaign, Trump vowed to get rid of the cap, but doing so would add significant costs to the GOP package and most Senate Republicans don’t support scrapping the cap.

Reply to the “Republicans’ Reconciliation Committee”: The House Ways and Means Committee voted on a Tax Break that Ends in 2025

The plan released by the Ways and Means committee would also establish a new type of trust called a “MAGA account,” which stands for “money account for growth and advancement.” Based on the text of the bill, it appears to be a tax-exempt trust created by the federal government for younger Americans. The funds can go into the accounts each year for higher education, a small business, and their first home. When the beneficiary is 31, it ends.

One potential revenue source that’s absent from the plan are any new income taxes on high earners. President Trump had floated allowing the tax bracket for high earners — those making between $2.4 million and $5 million — to go from 37% to 39.6%. But on Friday he pulled back from that, writing on social media that although he backed the “TINY” change, Democrats would use it as a campaign issue against Republicans. I’m ok if the Republicans do it. Trump said something.

Republicans propose making the 2017 Trump tax cuts that will expire at the end of 2025 permanent. In their full plan released Monday, the House Committee on Ways and Means added new tax breaks that the president campaigned on in 2024 — including no taxes on tips or overtime pay. If Republicans don’t cut spending enough, they will be forced to scale back their ambitions.

There are no drastic changes in the proposal to how government pays for Medicaid expansion that increased eligibility for lower-income childless, working-age adults as part of theAffordable Care Act. Conservative hardliners wanted a decrease in federal contributions to states. The plan doesn’t include a per person cap on federal spending.

They’ve committed to adding work requirements for “able-bodied” adults who receive benefits, requiring those enrolled to report working at least 80 hours a month. Changes to the sign up process and restrictions on the ability of the states to raise taxes on healthcare providers drew more federal matching dollars, while they also outlined changes to parts of the process. The bill talks about the end of waste, fraud and abuse within the program.

Source: Republicans face a crucial stretch this week as they aim to deliver on Trump’s agenda

Towards an Efficient and Competitive Future of the 21st Century: The Role of Tax, Immigration and Energy Policies in the House and Senate

That time frame will be put to the test as Republicans try to resolve the most contentious and wide-reaching policies in the coming days. Some of the key sticking points have been looked at.

By the end of this month, House Republicans hope to finalize the details of President Trump’s “big beautiful bill” that includes sweeping changes to tax, immigration and energy policy. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already muscled a budget blueprint for the plan through the chamber. It is going to be a difficult task this week as three House committees are trying to define policies that will have far-reaching impacts on pocketbooks and healthcare.

There are two competing camps in Johnson’s conference. Swing district Republicans are worried dramatic cuts to safety net programs and popular tax incentives could endanger their reelection prospects. More conservative members are arguing voters put a GOP trifecta in place to slash the deficit and restructure government programs.

The fiscal equation Republicans are trying to solve is how to reach the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts called for in their blueprint to offset the cost of extending President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. A large chunk of the GOP conference views the real target as $2 trillion in savings.

Last week, Texas Republican Chip Roy told reporters there were still roughly “20 plus issues” that need to be resolved. Johnson wants to get the bill through the House and to the Senate by Memorial Day, with the goal of having it to President Trump for his signature by July 4.

But the real deadline for Republicans is mid-July. Scott Bessent, Treasury Secretary, wants Congress to increase the country’s borrowing authority so it can avoid a potentially catastrophic government default. GOP leaders plan to increase the debt ceiling for five years in this package.

The fleeting nature of those incentives will make them less meaningful for companies, whose expansion plans are already caught up in the uncertainty created by Mr. Trump’s whipsawing tariff plans. The tax foundation estimated that the bill would increase GDP by less than the 1.7 percent growth the group attributed to the original law.

And that modest growth would come at a cost. The tax bill includes new limits on qualifying for the child tax credit, including that a child whose parent lacks a Social Security number cannot receive the benefit. The credit is currently given to parents who don’t have Social Security numbers, but can claim the money if their child is a citizen. Tightening the rules would mean two million American children would lose the benefit under the House bill, the chief of staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation told lawmakers on Tuesday.

Democratic Senator Donald S. Beyer Jr.: Getting a loaf of bread to the peasant and a huge benefit to the wealthy

“‘Let’s get a loaf of bread to the peasant and a huge benefit to the wealthy’; that’s what they’re doing,” said Representative Donald S. Beyer Jr., a Virginia Democrat.