Donald Trump stormed into Capitol Hill on Tuesday expecting to rally Republicans behind what he called a “big, beautiful bill.” Instead, he walked away with little to show for it.
Two key groups in the House — hard-right conservatives and moderate Republicans from high-tax blue states — are still saying no, and they’re not backing down.
“We’re still a long ways away,” said Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), leader of the House Freedom Caucus. “The president I don’t think convinced enough people that the bill is adequate the way it is.”
Trump spent nearly two hours trying to win over lawmakers in a closed-door meeting in the Capitol’s basement. He pushed for unity ahead of a self-imposed Memorial Day deadline set by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). But instead of uniting the party, Trump ran headfirst into a wall of resistance.
On one side are conservatives demanding deeper spending cuts. Trump warned them not to “f— with Medicaid,” making it clear he won’t gut the program. That didn’t land well with many in the Freedom Caucus.
On the other side are moderates fighting for higher state and local tax (SALT) deductions, something the bill doesn’t give them.
“While I respect the president, I’m not budging on it,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).
The bill currently caps the SALT deduction at $30,000 for individuals earning under $400,000 — a figure that moderates like Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) say is dead on arrival. “I’m still a no on the Jason Smith number,” LaLota said, referring to the cap proposed by Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith.
“I hope that the president’s presence here today motivates everybody, especially my leadership, to give the SALT Caucus a number to which we could actually say yes.”
Speaker Johnson is publicly staying upbeat.
“Failure is simply not an option,” he said after the meeting. “This is the way we deliver that,” he said of Trump’s agenda. “That means this Congress could be one of the most consequential in history.”
But behind the scenes, his bill is hanging by a thread.
Even lawmakers who softened their tone after Trump’s pitch didn’t commit. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) called Trump’s remarks “one of the best speeches I’ve heard,” but still wouldn’t say he was on board. And Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.) gave vague support, stressing the need for economic growth while noting problems with healthcare fraud.
“Defrauding the federal government is insane right now in health care,” Spartz said.
Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) made it clear the problems haven’t gone away.
“If they put a bill on the floor and it doesn’t have the [SALT] fix, I’m not sure the bill passes,” he said. “There’s still Medicaid problems with people, there’s still SNAP problems with people.”
“If they put the bill on the floor as is, I think there’s a lot of no votes.”
Then there’s Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a longtime critic of bills that increase the national debt. Nothing Trump said changed his mind.
“Not at this hour. They’re down to SALT, and they’re down to Medicaid,” Massie said. “There’s no doubt in my mind that this is going to balloon our debt.”
Trump didn’t take kindly to Massie’s opposition.
“I don’t think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he’s a grandstander, frankly,” Trump said. “We don’t even talk to him much. I think he should be voted out of office.”
“If you ask him a couple of questions, he never gives you answer. He just says I’m a no,” Trump added. “He thinks he’s going to get publicity.”
Massie didn’t flinch. After the meeting, he confirmed his position hadn’t changed.
