This week, House Republicans are on the hunt for deals on Medicaid cuts, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap and other contentious topics, as the conference looks to advance its package full of President Donald J. Trump’s legislative priorities to try to meet Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-Louisiana) goal of finishing work on the package by Memorial Day. The House Energy and Commerce Committee will look to tackle the debate over Medicaid cuts Tuesday and Wednesday, when the panel is scheduled to hold “member meetings.” The committee was initially looking to hold its full markup this week, but pushed off the vote amid continued member discord. The idea of possible slashes to the social safety net program has rattled the party for months, with conservatives pushing for significant changes and deep cuts to hit its deficit reduction minimum and moderates drawing red lines against such a move.
After Medicaid cuts, lifting the SALT deduction cap is emerging as the thorniest issue facing House GOP leadership. Republicans hailing from high-tax blue states are pushing for an increase to the $10,000 cap — which was first instituted in the 2017 Trump tax cut bill — while deficit hawks are sounding off on the prospect of helping liberal elite blue states. The SALT deduction cap falls under the jurisdiction of the Ways and Means Committee and Speaker Johnson last week said he wanted all panels to wrap up their markups this week to put the package on track for final passage by the end of the month, but the Ways and Means Committee has still not noticed a vote — and there is an increasing notion that it will not take place this week amid the disagreements. Additionally, House Republicans are still grappling with how to handle the potential rollback to green energy tax credits passed in the Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 and possible cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), previously known as food stamps. Disagreements over SNAP prompted the Agriculture Committee to scrap plans for a markup this week as well.
For today, the Senate will reconvene at 3:00 P.M. and is expected to take up a Motion to proceed to H.J.Res.61, Providing for congressional disapproval of the rule submitted by the Environmental Protection Agency relating to “National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants: Rubber Tire Manufacturing.” The resolution seeks to overturn a Biden-era rule pertaining to rubber tire manufacturing which went into effect November 29th, toward the end of former President Joe Biden’s term that set emissions standards for specific types of processing of the rubber tire manufacturing sector to regulate the emission of some hazardous pollutants. The House approved its revocation in a largely party-line 216-202 vote in March, with one Republican voting “no” and seven Democrats crossing the aisle to support the measure.
The House will reconvene for legislative business at 2:00 P.M. and will take up twelve bills under suspension of the Rules from the Veterans’ and Foreign Affairs Committees, including H.R. 1503 – Stop Forced Organ Harvesting Act of 2025.
