Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), a key voice in the debate over the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, is slamming what he says is a lack of negotiations on the contentious issue.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) — a vocal member of the SALT Caucus who said he will not vote for a $30,000 deduction cap as proposed in a GOP bill — said he was not aware of any planned negotiations on Tuesday, even as the House Ways and Means Committee prepared to debate and advance its portion of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
“What negotiations?” Lawler told reporters when asked about the status of conversations. “Someone should go ask the Speaker how he would classify this as a negotiation when his own chair says, ‘well I don’t have to negotiate with anybody, I just have to negotiate with my committee.’”
Lawler appeared to be referring to a meeting between SALT Caucus members, House Ways and Means Committee Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday, during which Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.), the chairman of the tax-writing panel, said it was not his responsibility to negotiate with the caucus, it was the Speaker’s, a source told The Hill.
The SALT cap has emerged as one of the largest hang ups hampering progress on the GOP’s bill full of President Trump domestic agenda, with centrists pushing to increase the cap and deficit hawks pushing against such a movie. The text of the House Ways and Means Committee’s portion of the package includes a $30,000 SALT deduction cap for individuals with an income of $400,000 or less — triple the blanket $10,000 cap currently in place — a figure that several SALT Caucus members have rejected.
Johnson, for his part, told reporters shortly after that conversations were underway. He claimed the group was nearing a resolution.
“We’re still having discussions, dialogue this afternoon, working on it. And we’re very close, I think, to finally resolving it,” Johnson said.
Pressed on whether he would increase the proposed SALT deduction cap from its current $30,000 offer, Johnson demurred.
“I’m not gonna give details of the ongoing discussion but I’m talking to both corners of the conference to try to find the perfect balance and I think we will,” he said.
On Monday, members of the SALT Caucus endorsed increasing the deduction cap for single filers to $62,000 and joint filers to $124,000 — a sign of the massive gulf between the two sides.
Smith, meanwhile, told reporters ahead of the markup that Johnson was handling the negotiations for SALT.
“This is the House Republican conference. The Speaker is negotiating every day on numerous policies,” Smith said. “The issue is, is that if we don’t deliver on this, every single American, 207 million taxpayers, will face a 22 percent tax increase.”
“So failure is not an option, there’s gonna be bumps along the road throughout this process, but we’re gonna get it done and we’re gonna get agreement,” he added. “And the Speaker is in the middle of all kinds of negotiations.”
As the disagreement drags on, tensions are heating up. Lawler took a jab at Smith on Tuesday amid the impasse.
“The chair should be reminded that he wouldn’t have a fucking gavel without the members of the SALT Caucus,” he said, referring to the vulnerable Republicans who won tight races to help hand the GOP a narrow House majority.
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