According to reports, Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson hope to pass the State and Local Tax (SALT) bill before the Memorial Day weekend, but Republicans from high-tax states refuse to compromise, insisting on raising the SALT deduction cap, which has put the legislation in a stalemate.
At a critical moment when Trump was eager to push through significant tax reform legislation, Republicans from high-tax states refused to compromise, insisting on raising the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, which stalled the legislation.
According to media reports on May 20, Trump went to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to meet with the Republican House caucus, attempting to persuade key Republican lawmakers from blue states to abandon their opposition to the tax reform bill, but was unsuccessful. House Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump hoped to pass the bill before Memorial Day weekend, but the firm opposition from the five members of the "SALT core group" may render this timeline unachievable.
The current bill proposes to raise the SALT deduction cap from the existing $10,000 to $30,000, but for some Republicans, this is still insufficient. Media reports indicate that these lawmakers from high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, and California insist that the SALT deduction cap proposed in the current bill is inadequate to meet the needs of their constituents.
Media noted that after Trump's visit to Congress, Republican leadership proposed raising the cap to $400,000, but this proposal would only apply to individuals earning $750,000 or less, and this cap would last for four years before being reduced to $300,000 for those earning $300,000 or less. However, the five members of the "SALT core group" still stated that they would vote against the current bill.
"My middle-class constituents should not be excluded from this process," said Republican lawmaker Nick LaLota from New York after the meeting. Republican hardliner Congressman Andy Biggs from Arizona expressed indifference to calls for swift passage of the bill, stating that he was more concerned about the final outcome than the timeline.
Trump lost patience and expressed dissatisfaction with the SALT demands.
According to media reports, at Tuesday's meeting, Trump directly told the "SALT core group": "Let it go."
Trump was more straightforward with New York Republican representative Mike Lawler, one of the opponents of the bill.
I understand your district better than you do. If you lose the election because of SALT, then you are destined to lose.
Trump suggested that Republicans from New York and other high-tax states wait a bit longer, trying to further increase SALT limits after tax legislation is completed in Congress. However, this proposal may provoke strong opposition from SALT lawmakers, as they believe the President's "beautiful big bill" is the only opportunity to address this political priority since 2017.
Despite facing many difficulties, House Speaker Johnson remains optimistic: "We will reach an agreement on everything necessary to push this legislation forward," he said on Tuesday, and still plans to hold a vote in the House before the end of the week.
Conservatives insist on deeper cuts to Medicaid.
Another major obstacle facing the tax reform bill comes from conservative Republicans, who demand larger-scale cuts to programs such as Medicaid and nutrition programs.
Maryland Congressman and chair of the House Freedom Caucus, Andy Harris, stated after the meeting that he would continue to oppose the current tax bill.
We have not done enough on Medicaid.
Although the current version of the legislation includes work requirements for able-bodied adults and provisions for charging Medical Services costs to more beneficiaries, these measures still seem inadequate to conservative lawmakers.
Editor/lambor