House Republicans are barrelling into a critical week for passing President Trump’s legislative agenda — even as they remain far apart on a number of key, hot-button issues.
The House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over taxes, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicaid policy, are both scheduled to begin debating — and eventually voting to advance — their parts of the “big, beautiful bill” Tuesday at 2 p.m., kicking off what is expected to a pair of marathon hearings.
A number of hangups, however, remain. The Ways and Means Committee has not yet reached an agreement on how to approach the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, which has emerged as one of the biggest sticking points in the GOP’s mega bill. And for the Energy and Commerce Committee, some hardline conservatives are already sounding off on how the panel decided to reform Medicaid.
The consideration comes as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is pushing to pass the entire package full of Trump’s domestic policy priorities by the end of next week — an ambitious timeline that largely hinges on how the two markups proceed.
On the House floor this week, lawmakers are slated to consider a number of measures pertaining to law enforcement as part of National Police Week. Across the Capitol, senators will vote on more of Trump’s nominees to join his administration.
House Ways and Means prepares for markup — without a SALT deal
The House Ways and Means Committee is slated to begin its mark up Tuesday afternoon, even as some of its most central — and controversial — parts of the legislation remain unknown.
The panel released partial text for its portion of the Trump agenda bill Friday night, which features a temporary increase to the child tax credit — from $1,000 to $2,500 through 2028 and to $2,000 in subsequent years — increases the pass-through deduction for qualified business income from 20 percent to 22 percent, and lays out a list of requirements for accessing federal health benefits.
Notably, however, the legislation does not include any details on how House Republicans plan to tackle the SALT deduction cap, which is one of the largest sticking points in the process to craft the GOP’s mega bill. The measure also omits any information pertaining to Trump’s campaign promises, including no tax on tips and overtime, canceling taxes on Social Security, adding a tax break for auto loan interest payments and starting a credit for family caregivers.
The committee is expected to release a more detailed version of the bill ahead of Tuesday’s markup.
“It’s not unusual for a revised version to be introduced as an amendment in the nature of a substitute,” a spokesperson for the panel said.
Still, however, it remains unclear how the conference plans to deal with the SALT deduction cap. Moderate Republicans from high-tax blue states — including New York, New Jersey and California — have been pushing to increase the deduction cap from its current level of $10,000 for individual and joint filers. Deficit hawks, however, do not want to lift the cap.
Members of the SALT Caucus are scheduled to meet with House GOP leadership and Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee on Monday at 10 a.m., a source told The Hill.
The gathering comes after SALT Caucus lawmakers rejected a proposal from top lawmakers on Thursday to increase the deduction cap to $30,000 for single and joint filers. Members slammed the offer.
“It’s not just insulting—it risks derailing President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill,” New York Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik, Andrew Garbarino, Nick LaLota and Mike Lawler wrote in a statement.
SALT Caucus Republicans are vowing to hold firm in their push for a higher deduction cap.When Ways and Means Committee Jason Smith (R-Mo.) posted a photo on X of white smoke emerging from a House office building Friday — signaling a development on his portion of the Trump agenda bill — LaLota retweeted a photo that reads “No SALT. No Deal. For Real.”
House GOP eyes Medicaid restrictions ahead of markup
The House Energy and Commerce Committee released its highly anticipated portion of the Trump agenda bill late Sunday night, as the panel gets ready to begin what is expected to be an hours-long debate.
The legislation would set new restrictions for Medicaid beneficiaries, including work requirements — working for at least 80 hours, whether or be community service or another program — and more frequent eligibility checks.
In a significant development, however, the measure does not include a per-beneficiary cap on federal Medicaid spending nor a reduction in the federal match to states, which were key red lines for moderate Republicans who are weary of hurting constituents who rely on the social safety net program.
The committee’s portion of the bill appears to be more aligned with moderate Republicans, who were vocally pushing against cuts to Medicaid. That dynamic is likely to spark frustrations among hardline conservatives, who were advocating against significant changes to the social safety net program as a way to bring down the ballooning deficit.
“Clearly leadership anticipated a very aggressive managers amendment if they want a prayer of consideration, much less passage,” Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told The Hill after the text was unveiled.
Manager’s amendments are typically wide-ranging changes to legislation used to streamline the legislative process.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee was tasked to find at least $880 billion in cuts, the largest portion of the $1.5 trillion cut minimum for the lower chamber. During a Sunday night call with Republicans on the panel, Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) said the group found “north of $900 billion” in savings, a source told The Hill.
The bill is not, however, all wins for moderates: It would prevent Medicaid from reimbursing community health providers, including Planned Parenthood, that provide family planning and abortion services, a provision that the centrists are opposed to.
Additionally, the legislation would ban Medicaid funds from being used for gender-affirming care for minors.
House to commemorate National Police Week
The House is scheduled to consider a number of law enforcement-related measures on the floor in the coming days as the chamber commemorates National Police Week.
The chamber will vote on a bill that would require the attorney general to pull together reports on violent attacks against law enforcement officers, a measure to expand the capacity for qualified active and retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms in some public areas — including school zones and national parks — and legislation to allow federal law enforcement officers to buy retired service weapons.
The House will also consider a bill calling on local communities to support organizations that support Gold Shield Families — families that include fallen police officers and firefighters, among other law enforcement figures — and a resolution expressing support for local law enforcement officers.
“House Republicans won’t stop standing up for our men and women in blue as they face increasing challenges and threats to their safety,” the office of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote in a floor lookout Sunday night.
Senate to vote on nominations
The Senate is slated to vote on more of Trump’s nominations this week.
The chamber will kick off the week with a vote at 5:30 p.m. Monday to advance Monica Crowley’s nomination to be chief of protocol at the State Department. Crowley, a former Fox News contributor, served in the first Trump administration. She was accused of plagiarizing parts of her 2012 book and doctoral dissertation at Columbia University.
The Senate is also expected to consider Reed Rubinstein’s nomination to be legal adviser of the State Department, Troy Meink’s nomination to be secretary of the Air Force, James Danly’s nomination to be deputy secretary of Energy, Katharine MacGregor’s nomination to be deputy secretary of the Interior, and Michael Rigas’s nomination to be deputy secretary of State for management and resources.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Republicans hit crucial week for advancing Trump agenda )
Also on site :
- Zelensky challenges Putin’s offer to meet after Russia ignores ceasefire demand
- Keir says ‘we cant live on an island of strangers’ as he overhauls migration & cracks down on deportation dodgers
- Trump teases ‘important and impactful’ executive order