Trump Amps Up Pressure on GOP Holdouts on His Massive Tax Bill
How did your country report this? Share your view in the comments.
Diverging Reports Breakdown
Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ gets boost from LA immigration protests
The White House and administration allies are using the protests to push members to line up behind the massive piece of legislation. The bill includes $46.5 billion to beef up the border wall, with $4.1 billion also going towards hiring 3,000 new Border Patrol agents. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky) is opposing the bill over its inclusion of a $4 trillion debt ceiling hike, though he has spoken favorably of much else that is included. The back-and-forth also caught the attention of some Republicans amid this final stretch of work on the bill. “There’s no ambiguity, nor is there any flexibility,” a White House aide said of the feud between Stephen Miller and Rand Paul, who has repeatedly complained that the bill does not do enough to cut spending on the border.“They’re just lying,’ he told The Hill.’I’m sure Stephen Miller, Rand Paul are sure-of-themselves that the most certain-of their own positions’
The White House and administration allies are using the protests to push members to line up behind the massive piece of legislation, highlighting the package’s border provisions while making the case that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) needs an infusion of support.
“It’s been a high priority before what happened in Los Angeles, and I think the American people are seeing firsthand what happens when lawlessness rules the streets and you’re undercutting the very important mission of ICE,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), a top ally of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), said.
“It helps illustrate the consequences of not having ICE fully supported, whether that is supported by government officials, as well as the needed financial support to make sure they have the capacity to do their job,” Daines added.
Senate Republicans are in the midst of a key week in the process of passing the bill — the linchpin of the party’s overall agenda — with an eye toward completing work by July 4. Though leaders are hoping to roll out key portions of the bill, deep divisions remain on crucial issues including taxes, deficit reduction, Medicaid and more.
But most Senate Republicans have long agreed that border provisions are a crucial part of the bill. Earlier this year, as Senate Republicans pushed an alternative two-bill approach, they included immigration funding in what would have been the first of two bills, aiming to quickly get it to Trump’s desk.
Instead, the need to consolidate House GOP support resulted in those being lumped together with extensions of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Ac in the single bill the party is considering now.
But while those items fell out of view for many, the Los Angeles tumult has brought them back to the surface.
The bill includes $46.5 billion to beef up the border wall, with $4.1 billion also going towards hiring 3,000 new Border Patrol agents and 5,000 new customs officers. More than $2 billion is included for signing and retention bonuses.
On top of that, the legislation includes an additional $1,000 fee for individuals filing for asylum in the U.S.
“It does probably add a little value to it, to the positioning of it,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) said. “But for most Republicans, it’s why it was part of our first resolution. Securing the border is the one thing that can get everybody to vote for making Trump tax cuts permanent — if they needed any more encouragement to do that.”
Encouragement is exactly what some members are getting. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), the No. 3 Senate Republican who leads the party’s messaging effort, sent out fresh talking points to the conference early in the week urging senators to condemn the rioters and the Democrats defending them. He signaled that the current legislative push should be a factor as well.
“Point out that this is another reason we need to pass our bill,” Cotton urged members, noting the funding increases for ICE and other law enforcement officers at the border.
The White House earlier in the week also used the opportunity to pan Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the most strident GOP holdout. Stephen Miller, a top White House aide, said the Kentucky Republican is “trying to cut funding for deportations and border security” amid the Los Angeles protests via his opposition to the bill.
Paul fired back.
“They’re just lying,” he told The Hill.
Paul is opposing the bill over its inclusion of a $4 trillion debt ceiling hike, though he has spoken favorably of much else that is included.
The back-and-forth also caught the attention of some Republicans amid this final stretch.
“I’m sure Stephen convinced Rand,” Cramer quipped. “One thing’s for sure: Stephen Miller and Rand Paul are two of the most securely-certain-of-themselves people. They’re certainly certain of their own positions.”
“There’s no ambiguity, nor is there any flexibility,” he continued. “It’s an amusing feud.”
Another Republican who still needs to be convinced to jump on board is Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who has repeatedly complained the bill does not do enough to cut spending.
He also made the case on Tuesday that some of the border spending should be examined even though he is largely supportive of the border funding included.
“That’s the first thing we wanted to do. The Senate wanted to pass that with our budget reconciliation bill — border, defense, $850 billion of spending reduction. That would have been our first bite at the apple there. … We think that’s [our] top priority,” Johnson said. “That being said, I’d want to sharpen my pencil. I don’t know where the administration spends $6.6 billion in the first term to build 450 miles of fence, now we need $46.5 billion?”
“They’ve got to explain that to me,” he continued. “We’re $37 trillion in debt. We can’t be wasteful with any money, no matter how important … the use for it.”
The White House continued to press the case for the mammoth bill behind closed doors on Tuesday as it presented polling data for Senate Republicans during a luncheon at the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC).
According to multiple attendees, Senate Republicans were urged to highlight provisions that polled well in internal surveys, including no taxes on tips and work requirements for Medicaid.
“That was the bottom line,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), a member of Senate GOP leadership, told reporters.
But overall, it’s the border security component they still believe will carry weight, especially after what they view as an effective push in the opening months of Trump’s second term.
A source familiar also noted that the members were shown an ad by Cotton’s super PAC going after Sen. Jon Ossoff (Ga.), the foremost Democrat who Republicans hope to unseat next year, over his opposition to Medicaid cuts for those in the country without authorization.
“It sort of highlights what we’re up against. We need to confront mass migration with mass deportations. President Trump ran on that,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), a top Trump ally. “In order to do that, you need tools, you need facilities and you need ICE agents to go do it.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t be surprised, [but] I actually just can’t believe that the Democrats, again, are sort of doing this all over again on the immigration debate,” he said. “The American people do not want people here illegally. They support law enforcement, with deportations, and to make this hill to die on, once again, is … a losing argument for them.”
GOP fiscal hawks sink key vote on Trump ‘big, beautiful bill’
The 16-21 vote throws up a hurdle for leaders hoping to send the bill to the Senate by Memorial Day. Republicans could only afford to lose two of their members and still advance the legislation. House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) called the committee into recess after the vote. The megabill combines an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts with cuts to entitlement and food assistance programs and other measures that Republicans project will save at least $1.5 trillion over the course of a decade. Those include Medicaid reforms, such as new beefed up work requirements on “able-bodied” adults, that are projected to result in millions losing health coverage; repealing green energy tax credits that Democrats enacted in 2022; and making states share the cost of food assistance for the first time. But while House committees completed marathon markups on those major areas this week, last-minute changes are being negotiated. The bill is expected to be passed by the end of the month.
The 16-21 vote throws up a hurdle for leaders hoping to send the bill to the Senate by Memorial Day — but are still haggling over last minute changes to appease not only the fiscal hawks but moderates seeking bigger blue-state tax breaks.
Five Republicans voted no: Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas), Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) and Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.). Republicans could only afford to lose two of their members and still advance the legislation. Smucker changed his vote from yes to no in a procedural move.
“To be clear—I fully support the One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB). My vote today in the Budget Committee is a procedural requirement to preserve the committee’s opportunity to reconsider the motion to advance OBBB,” Smucker wrote on X.
House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) called the committee into recess after the vote. He told members after the markup that he did not expect the committee to come back on Friday, to “go home,” and that he would let members know if they would resume first thing Monday.
“We’re working through some remaining issues here, there are just a few outstanding issues I think everyone will get to yes, and we’re going to l resolve this as quick as we can and hopefully have a vote, ideally on Monday, and we can advance this bill,” Smucker said.
Smucker said the panel plowed ahead with a vote despite the reservations among hardliners because “there were continued, ongoing discussions and we were very close to having a yes.”
Later Friday afternoon, three sources told The Hill the committee would reconvene on Sunday at 10 p.m.
Negotiations took place during the committee markup in a neighboring room with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.), but leaders apparently did not make enough progress to sway the holdouts.
“This bill falls profoundly short. It does not do what we say it does with respect to deficits,” Rep Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of those holdouts, said during the markup.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), another one of the holdouts, said he was “very disappointed” with the state of the measure, adding in the committee: “Sadly, I’m a hard no until we get this ironed out.”
The megabill combines an extension of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts with cuts to entitlement and food assistance programs and other measures that Republicans project will save at least $1.5 trillion over the course of a decade. Those include Medicaid reforms, such as new beefed up work requirements on “able-bodied” adults, that are projected to result in millions losing health coverage; repealing green energy tax credits that Democrats enacted in 2022; and making states share the cost of food assistance for the first time.
But while House committees completed marathon markups on those major areas this week, last-minute changes are being negotiated.
Moderate Republicans want an increase of the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap – currently written as $30,000 in the legislation. But to make up for that, fiscal hawks want changes to the bill to get more savings elsewhere.
Conservatives are seeking assurances on those changes, including expediting the implementation of the new Medicaid work requirements and accelerating the rollback of green energy tax credits. They have also asked for changes that would make moderates balk, like lowering the federal Medicaid matching rate for the ObamaCare expansion population.
Norman said he needs those commitments “in writing.”
“It’s a sticking point because it’s huge money,” he said, adding, “I’m tired of smoke and mirrors.”
Scalise said Republicans are working with the Trump administration to examine the timeline for kicking in provisions of the party’s sprawling package, a detail that has emerged as a key sticking point for the conservatives.
“What they want to see is progress and get answers on some of the questions and expedite the timelines,” Scalise said. “We’re all in agreement on the reforms we want to make. We want to have work requirements, we want to phase out a lot of these green subsidies.”
“How quickly can you get it done? And it’s not as quick as saying you just turn it off tomorrow,” he continued. “Some things the administration does have to actually create a process to implement it, and we want to make sure that the Trump administration has the time they need while pushing it as fast as possible. So those are the conversations we’re having and we’re making a lot of progress.”
In a display of the high stakes, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) made a surprise appearance at the markup after he had been expected to be absent due to the birth of his second child just a week earlier.
“I’m here to support the president’s agenda,” Gill told reporters heading into the markup.
Trump put the pressure on holdout during the markup in a post on his social media site Truth Social, calling on Republicans to unite.
“We don’t need ‘GRANDSTANDERS’ in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!” Trump said.
That lobbying campaign, however, did not appear to immediately move sentiments. Norman told reporters he saw Trump’s post.
“I don’t need to grandstand. This is: how do you disagree with the agenda he laid out? He’s a smart guy, and he’s got so many good things [in the bill]. All we’re asking is [for] a little compromise somewhere,” he said. “Let’s not give the farm. It’s not right. It’s not right.”
Updated at 12:15 p.m.