House Republicans’ revised version of President Trump’s “big beautiful bill” has begun its vote on passage early Thursday after GOP leaders’ push to unite warring factions.
Late on Wednesday evening, House Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled the last-minute changes to the bill, before the House began an all-night session to debate and then vote on the legislation.
It now includes a more generous deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) aimed at meeting demands from conservatives, along with other concessions.
Johnson confirmed Wednesday that a SALT deal had been struck to provide a higher deduction of $40,000 annually. That’s an increase from the current $10,000 cap and from Johnson’s initial offer of $30,000.
The political pressure for a vote on the overall bill has been rising, with the White House weighing in on multiple fronts. The focus shifted Wednesday afternoon to members of the fiscally conservative House Freedom Caucus, who have argued the bill was “not ready.”
These lawmakers went to the White House Wednesday afternoon for a two-hour meeting, with the press secretary offering afterwards that “the meeting was productive and moved the ball in the right direction” without offering additional details.
In focus were a series of issues, including an effort to reform and limit Medicaid spending — which many project could lead to millions of Americans losing healthcare coverage — and green energy credits that are also dividing Republicans.
The revised bill now accelerates the introduction of new work requirements for Medicaid, with implementation moved to December 2026 from the previous January 2029.
House Speaker Mike Johnson arrives at a House Rules Committee meeting early Wednesday morning at the US Capitol. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) · Kevin Dietsch via Getty Images
The concession from Johnson on SALT came after a group of blue-state Republicans — who described themselves as the “SALTY five” — held out for more generous provisions.
The group includes Mike Lawler, Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino, Elise Stefanik of New York, as well as Tom Kean of New Jersey and Young Kim of California.
LaLota touted the deal in a post Wednesday, saying of SALT deductions, “DC is poised to quadruple it.” Lawler added in a television appearance that he would support it.
The deal is also expected to set a higher $500,000 cap on annual income for eligibility. The current bill begins to phase out the benefits for those with a modified adjusted gross income above $400,000.
Yet this deal is unlikely to be the final word on the SALT issue, with many of these Republican fiscal conservatives long opposed to any additional deductions. There is also less GOP support for SALT in the Senate, which has yet to weigh in.
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