Senate Finance Republicans could release their all-important megabill text as soon as Friday, outlining changes to Medicaid cuts and President Donald Trump’s tax incentives.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune met with the president at the White House on Thursday and told POLITICO afterwards to expect Trump’s campaign promises, like tax relief for tips and overtime work, to be intact in the bill text.
“The president wants his priorities,” Thune said in a brief Thursday evening interview. His comments come after Senate Republicans had been contemplating rolling some of Trump’s tax policies back to make room for larger business tax cuts.
But there are strategic reasons for Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) to postpone release of his committee’s text until next week. Generally, lawmakers don’t like tax legislation to sit out in the daylight for lobbyists to pick apart.
The bill text could also drive key policy disagreements. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said if the text doesn’t ease up enough on the proposed Medicaid cuts, he would be willing to force a vote on the Senate floor that could include a rollback of limits on taxes that fund state obligations for the program.
“I’d be happy to amend the bill on the floor. Quote me on that,” Hawley told reporters on Thursday. “I don’t think that’s probably what leadership wants.”
There could also be major heartburn for blue-state House Republicans if the bill text waters down their $40,000 state-and-local-tax deduction cap.
In a notable moment during Thursday’s House vote on the rescissions package, one of the hardcore SALTers, Rep. Nick LaLota, suddenly switched his vote from “no” to “yes” after a huddle with House Speaker Mike Johnson on the floor.
The New Yorker declined to confirm whether SALT had to do with his flip, but said: “I expect constituents will be quite pleased when they get $40,000 worth of SALT.”
Other must-reads on megabill dynamics this morning:
— Where GOP leaders are smoothing things over: Republican senators and the White House now view Senate hard-liners Ron Johnson (Wis.), Mike Lee (Utah) and Rick Scott (Fla.) as on track to support the megabill they’ve railed against for not slashing enough spending.
Johnson softened his tone after convincing Trump in a one-on-one phone call to let him work with administration officials on his deficit-reduction plan. Johnson subsequently met with Vice President JD Vance and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.
— Where GOP tensions are rising: Homeland Security Chair Rand Paul (Ky.) and Budget Chair Lindsey Graham (S.C.) released dueling proposals for Homeland’s portion of the megabill late Thursday, after GOP leaders deemed the conservative numbers Paul put forward as unworkable.
— What else the GOP is tweaking: Senate Judiciary’s take on the megabill, also released late Thursday, includes new immigration fees and a carrot for Hawley (reauthorization of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act). But it leaves out House-passed language to limit the ability of federal courts to enforce contempt orders and a deregulatory provision known as the REINS Act. Republicans could still try to get a version of REINS past the parliamentarian.
What else we’re watching:
— More reaction to the Israeli strike: Hill Republicans were quick to post messages of support after Israel launched what it described as a “preemptive” military strike aimed at Iran’s nuclear facilities. Speaker Johnson posted an Israeli flag on X Thursday night; Thune declared the Senate’s commitment to helping Israel. Israel’s move raises the specter of a broader conflict between the Middle Eastern adversaries that threatens to drag in the U.S.
— What happens next on Padilla: Speaker Johnson suggested the Senate should censure Sen. Alex Padilla after the California Democrat interrupted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s Los Angeles press conference Friday and was forcibly removed and handcuffed by Secret Service agents. Democrats, meanwhile, are decrying “totalitarianism”; several are demanding Noem to testify before Congress or even to resign.
Jordain Carney, Eric Bazail-Eimil, Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.
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