Senate Republicans again met this afternoon behind closed doors to discuss the details of Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill,” ticking through the changes that need to be made to accommodate recent rulings by the Senate parliamentarian.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said that the hope for Republicans is still to start voting on the bill as soon as Thursday or Friday and that there were “no big surprises” in the changes required by the parliamentarian.
She said that on the matter of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, previously referred to as food stamps, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., “pretty much outlined how he thinks he’s going to be able to work that, make it, you know, a longer glide path for the states.”
“So we’ll see how that goes. I think that was the big one that kind of upended at the, at the parliamentarian,” Capito added.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., said the group has landed on a threshold for a cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes, known as SALT, that he believes can work, even if it doesn’t make anyone happy.
“We’ve got an option that, like I said, neither side is going to love, but it’s going to be something that we’re all going to have to deal with,” he said. “No one loves it, so it isn’t a great position to be in. But is it worth voting against? That’s where the question has to be.”
Senators acknowledged that the parliamentarian is still working through key provisions related to Medicaid and tax cuts, which could further complicate the bill. But they also said they expect the chairmen of the relevant Senate committees to try to tweak the language of provisions that the parliamentarian has already ruled could not be included in the bill.
The process will continue through the coming days, and the bill can’t be brought to the Senate floor until it’s completed. After it’s brought to the floor, there are up to 20 hours of debate on the bill. But since that time is equally divided between the parties, it’s unlikely the entire 20 hours will be used.