Republican senators have started digging into the House-passed version of President Donald Trump’s sweeping new agenda bill — and what they’re finding is setting off alarms across the party.
Behind the big promises and tough talk are policy details that some GOP senators say could hurt their states, their voters, and the party’s credibility. From deep Medicaid changes to rushed clean energy cuts, the fine print is creating a wave of resistance on Capitol Hill.
Medicaid is a major sticking point. Conservatives in the House won support by pushing for stricter work requirements and slashing provider taxes. But several GOP senators aren’t on board.
Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri said bluntly: “I am not going to vote for that… Medicaid is the big kahuna and that is where I am training my focus and my fire. I’ve got 1.3 million Missourians on Medicaid, or CHIP, so that’s the hill to fight on.”
Sen. Jim Justice of West Virginia warned, “The provider tax is really important… we can’t let that just get undermined,” adding, “you gotta get through all the fine print… there could be things that absolutely hurt people.”
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine voiced concerns over rural hospitals and education funding. “I support the work requirements that are in the bill. I think that makes sense,” she said. “But I’m still going through the issues that I see as problematic.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia said after hearing from constituents, “There were some nuances to it that I hadn’t actually understood… We haven’t had a chance to digest how it’s going to impact our hospitals.”
Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas summed it up: “I want to make sure that we’re not harming hospitals that we just spent COVID money to save.”
Extending Trump’s tax cuts for the wealthy will balloon the debt. Ironically, that’s a problem for some Republicans, too.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warned the bill could actually add $2.4 trillion to the national deficit over the next decade.
Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said he spoke directly with Trump but didn’t sugarcoat it: “We all want him to succeed but my bottom line is we need to seriously address the debt and deficit issue.”
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky added, “They’re borrowing $5 trillion… that’s just not conservative… I can’t support the bill if they’re together.”
And Sen. John Curtis of Utah broke it down plainly: “We’re going to spend in the next 10 years about $20 trillion more than the revenue we bring in, and they’re cutting $1.5 trillion out of $20 trillion. Most of us wouldn’t do that in our businesses… that’s a big concern to me.”
Clean Energy Cuts Trigger New Worries
House conservatives celebrated the rollback of clean energy tax credits, but GOP senators are warning that killing those programs too fast could hurt energy investments and job growth in their states.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska warned against pulling the plug too quickly: “Let’s be smart about these… make sure if you’re going to do phase-outs of this, that they’re reasonable phase-outs.”
Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas said simply: “There is a lot of Senate sentiment that it’s too rapid.”
Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina argued for a business-first approach: “We need to be smart about where capital has been deployed… We just got to get it right.”
Another landmine? The SALT deduction cap. House Republicans from high-tax states like New York and California fought to raise the deduction cap from $10,000 to $40,000 — and they won. But that win isn’t going over well with GOP senators from low-tax states.
Sen. Thom Tillis made his frustration clear: “I took all the criticism for making North Carolina not a SALT state, and now you’re telling me I’ve got to subsidize the bad decisions made in Albany and Sacramento.”
Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo of Idaho put it bluntly: “There’s not a strong mood in the Senate Republican caucus right now to do $353 billion for states that basically the other states subsidize.”
The clock is ticking. Senate Majority Leader John Thune is trying to hold his conference together to meet the July 4 deadline, but the cracks are widening. The bill must pass the Senate, return to the House for final approval, and then go to Trump’s desk — but that’s looking less likely by the day.
