Congress
Republicans close in on ‘big, beautiful’ deal
Republican leaders are increasingly confident they will be able to notch a final deal with key GOP megabill holdouts and move toward a final vote in the coming days after several whirlwind hours of closely held negotiations.
The upbeat turn in the frequently tumultuous talks was described by six senior Republicans who are participating in them. It came after President Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill Tuesday morning to personally urge the warring factions to drop their demands and come to an agreement on the sprawling domestic-policy bill centered on a multi-trillion-dollar suite of tax cuts.
Some of those holdouts emerged from the morning meeting proclaiming ongoing opposition to the current proposal. Behind the scenes, however, many of those obstinate members have been looking for off-ramps — eager to find a way to “yes” while also proclaiming victory on their particular interests, said the six Republicans, who were granted anonymity to describe the private talks.
A bitter war waged by blue-state Republicans over the state-and-local-tax deduction, or SALT, is nearing a final resolution, according to people involved in the talks, after GOP leaders offered to slightly sweeten their offer. The group huddled Tuesday evening with Speaker Mike Johnson in hopes of wrapping things up.
And to win over hard-line conservatives pushing for more spending cuts, Johnson’s team is working to accelerate the phase-out of clean-energy tax credits enacted under former President Joe Biden. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told reporters Tuesday night that the bill would “limit dramatically any new projects from starting” using Inflation Reduction Act incentives.
“I think everybody on both sides have been looking for ‘outs,’ and I think they’re getting them today,” said one senior GOP aide.
House leaders are rushing to notch a deal with the various factions ahead of a scheduled 1 a.m. Rules Committee meeting, where the bill will be readied for floor consideration. Johnson has imposed a Memorial Day deadline for a final House vote and is holding out hope that things could be wrapped up as soon as Wednesday.
“We’ve been talking to other sides of the conference,” Scalise said. “Because, of course, with each of these pieces, for every person that wants to make a change over here, there are people that don’t want to make the change over there.”
“We’re gonna be up late,” he added.
The progress, however, has been palpable. Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland — chair of the hard-right Freedom Caucus — emerged from the morning Trump meeting insisting that he was far from a “yes” and demanding further cuts to Medicaid. By the evening, he declared things were “moving in the right direction” and was no longer insisting a vote this week was impossible.
Harris said some major work remains on ironing out the parameters around axing the clean-energy tax credits, but he and other conservatives have all but dropped their push for the steepest cuts to Medicaid following Trump’s insistence Tuesday morning that they leave the program alone.
GOP leaders have worked to split the opposition, peeling away members who are less dug in on policy principles and are otherwise uncomfortable breaking with the president and the bulk of the party.
They include Rep. Josh Brecheen (R-Okla.), who has taken a less confrontational stance than fellow fiscal hawks Reps. Chip Roy (R-Texas) or Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) — and, according to the Republicans involved in the talks, has looked for ways to get on board after helping tank a key Budget Committee vote last Friday, enraging Trump.
Johnson huddled with Brecheen alone on the House floor Tuesday afternoon. Shortly after, he told reporters he was “hopeful” on a deal.
Meanwhile, vulnerable centrists are relieved that Trump told conservatives to back off further cuts to safety-net programs, and the SALT Republicans are heading toward a resolution after a Trump tongue-lashing. Leaders are proposing to extend the length of a new $40,000 cap to a full 10 years after previous offers would have sunset after shorter windows.
“We weren’t even in the same universe a couple of days ago,” said Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) after walking out of Johnson’s office Tuesday night. “We’re in the same ball field now.”
GOP leaders aren’t necessarily determined to get every last holdout on board before sending a bill to the Rules Committee. Two key hard-liners who sit on the panel — Norman and Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia — said Tuesday they were inclined to advance the bill to the floor.
That’s where Johnson’s leadership circle believes they can lean on the final holdouts until they break — possibly with help from Trump.
The thinking, several of the Republicans said, is that some members will keep asking for more time until leaders finally call the question: Are you with Trump and your Republican colleagues, or aren’t you?
And if they insist on voting the bill down, the belief is they would eventually crumble under fierce public pressure from constituents and MAGA loyalists furious about the failure of Trump’s signature bill.
“Things don’t get better when you hold it out there,” as one senior Republican said.
Another was more blunt: “It’s easier to break up with someone from a basement over email. Harder to do it in person, face-to-face.”
Robert King and Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
The Senate is aiming to leave Washington for a five-week recess early Saturday after Republicans cut a deal with President Donald Trump to punt some of their priorities, including a framework for a party-line spending plan.
The Senate is trying to lock in an agreement that would set up votes on a college sports bill, a stopgap government funding bill, Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination and GOP voter ID legislation, according to a copy of an internal notice reviewed by Blue Light News.
The Senate would then leave Washington until mid-September.
Any one senator could object to the tentative deal, forcing it to be altered or dragging the Senate deeper into the weekend. Senators believe there are still objections to advancing the college sports bill. Democrats are also waiting to see if one of their own will prevent speeding up Blanche’s confirmation.
The breakthrough is a U-turn from earlier Friday evening, when Republican senators emerged from a closed-door meeting predicting they would have to spend Saturday trying to break a stalemate within the party about how to wrap final votes before recess.
Shortly after that meeting, Trump spoke by phone with Senate Republicans including Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Rick Scott of Florida and Mike Lee of Utah about the path forward for the GOP’s lengthy to-do list.
During the call, according to Johnson, Trump agreed to punt a vote on a budget blueprint for a third party-line spending bill until later in the year. Lee, who has been pushing for action on the separate SAVE America Act, also agreed to drop his demand for a formal, roll call vote on adjourning given the understanding with the president.
“I think the conclusion of the conference – and we had a discussion with the president and he agrees – [is] don’t take the vote tonight,” Johnson said after the meeting in Thune’s office.
Republicans were in talks with the White House throughout Friday. A White House official granted anonymity said Friday evening that “we’re continuing to have productive conversations with senators to advance several legislative priorities.”
Senate Republicans confirmed dozens of President Donald Trump’s nominees Friday, just before they leave for a five-week congressional recess.
Senators voted 51-47 to approve officials at the Departments of Defense, Energy, State and other agencies.
They included David Cummins to head the Transportation Security Administration, Cameron Hamilton to lead the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Hal Duncan to be OMB deputy director and Francis Brooke to be Treasury deputy secretary. Among the group were several ambassadors, including former Rep. David Brat to be ambassador to Australia.
Senate Republicans changed the chamber’s rules last year to be able to confirm lower-level nominees as a package instead of having to hold a vote on each.
After finishing the expedited procedure Friday, Senate Republicans estimate they will only have a small number of civilian nominees awaiting confirmation.
President Donald Trump said voters may seek to punish Republicans — but not him — in the November midterm elections, as GOP lawmakers sweat that affordability concerns and the war in Iran could mean Democrats flip the House and perhaps even the Senate.
“They’re angry at Republicans,” Trump said in an interview with Punchbowl News that aired Friday. “But they’re not angry at me. They’re not angry at me, but they are angry at Republicans.”
The GOP faces the prospect of heavy losses this November, as gas and grocery prices remain stubbornly high due in part to the White House’s five-month-long war in Iran. The administration’s guidance on campaign trail messaging has been “tone deaf,” House Republicans fear.
Meanwhile, the president’s approval rating has tumbled since he returned to the Oval Office last year, and even his biggest supporters have grown frustrated over his Middle East war.
And with a messy, jam-packed slate of primaries now all but in the rearview mirror, Democrats are determined to go on offense. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has 58 seats on its midterm target map that stretches into redder territory — while still facing an uphill climb to take the Senate.
Trump has a massive war chest at his disposal. His MAGA Inc. super PAC reached $400 million in June. The president told Punchbowl he plans to use it to “help Republicans,” but he stressed that he faces no pressure in this campaign cycle.
“I said to somebody, ‘Wait a minute, you don’t understand, I won,’” Trump said, referencing his 2024 presidential election victory. “I’m not campaigning.”
The biggest issue for Republicans this year? That Trump himself is not on the ballot, he said.
“If I don’t run, will those people go out and vote? And that’s the one thing I can’t tell, I’m going to ask them to,” he said.
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