A cadre of House Republicans huddled for nearly two-hours in the Speaker Mike Johnson’s office for a high-stakes meeting Thursday morning to hash out the remaining sticking points related to Medicaid and tax reform — key components of the megabill encompassing President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda — that have so far prevented leadership from locking down sufficient support for the bill’s passage.
Johnson told reporters after the meeting that Republicans had “a very thoughtful discussion,” adding that he plans to work through the weekend to come to what’s been an elusive consensus on the SALT caps — the amount of state and local taxes that can be written off on federal tax returns — moderates draw a red line opposing the proposed $30,000 cap on those deductions.
“I think everyone would agree that it was productive and that we are moving the ball forward,” Johnson said, adding he is striving “to meet the equilibrium point that everyone can be satisfied with.”
Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to reporters as he leaves the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol, May 15, 2025 in Washington.
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The effort is another crucial test of Johnson’s speakership as he works to unify his divided conference. The Republican majority can withstand three no votes from within their ranks before losing sufficient support for passage, underscoring the delicate challenge that Johnson hopes to balance without upsetting his conference.
The discussions come the same day that House Republicans formally unveiled the text of the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” — a 1,116-page mega bill that the House Budget Committee will send to the Rules committee, putting it on target for a final vote in the House next week.
Johnson said that he’s not budging on the Memorial Day target to dispatch the mega-bill from the House.
“We are very, very close to that,” he added. “We are still on path to pass this bill next week on the floor. That is the plan. I don’t see anything to impede that right now.”
Johnson claimed Republicans are aiming to pass the package in a “deficit-neutral way” when pressed if the package will add trillions of dollars to the deficit.
“If you do more on SALT, you have to find more in savings,” he said.
Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to reporters as he leaves the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol, May 15, 2025 in Washington.
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Pressed by ABC News on whether he expects to lose Republicans on the vote, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer shot back, “I expect that we will pass the bill.”
“It’s going to come up in Rules on Monday and we’ll be voting on it next week,” Emmer reassured reporters.
Republicans in the critical meeting included Reps. Beth Van Duyne, Mike Lawler, Chip Roy, Nick LaLota, Elise Stefanik, Lisa McClain, Andrew Garbarino, August Pfluger, Byron Donalds and others.
“At its core, everybody in that room is trying to get the president’s agenda through and we’re committed to that,” Donalds said leaving the meeting. “It’s about how you put the math together.”