A growing number of House Republicans — from moderates to hardliners — are expressing grievances with key components of the megabill encompassing President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda — threatening to undercut the package’s momentum ahead of an expected vote late next week.
Speaker Mike Johnson faces yet another critical test of his speakership and must corral his divided conference around the final reconciliation package in the House. Johnson can only afford to lose three GOP defections and currently there are enough lawmakers signaling opposition to stop the bill from advancing to the Senate.
Hardliners demand changes to Medicaid overhaul
Several hardliners expressed deep concerns with the plan from the Energy and Commerce Committee, which completed a marathon 26-hour markup Wednesday afternoon, to overhaul Medicaid, which includes new work requirements that won’t take effect until 2029 and imposes more frequent eligibility checks for beneficiaries.
South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman demanded changes, specifically the work requirements provision.
“Work requirements cannot be extended to 2029. I can’t come to your station and say, ‘I’m here to pick up a check. What do you do? Norman? I don’t do anything.’ No, it’s not right in ’29, it’s not right now,” Norman said.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris called the Medicaid plan “a joke.”
“The proposal to stop waste, fraud, and abuse in Medicaid will do little to achieve that. The common-sense work requirement for able-bodied adults doesn’t start for four years (into the next administration) and CAN BE WAIVED by any state for “hardship” that they determine (and they will). What a joke. The swamp is real. And by the way…the federal government should NOT pay states more for able-bodied, working-age adults on Medicaid than it pays states for children, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities on Medicaid,” Harris said in a post on X.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, who often changes her position, said on X, “the GOP is legalizing Medicaid for illegals at a higher federal match rate than for the most vulnerable Americans — seems hypocritical and screwed up.”
Georgia Rep. Rich McCormick took issue with the package at large.
“I don’t think I’m a yes right now, but that shouldn’t surprise anybody. We have several things to work out. There’s got to be a minimum savings in this year. The reason I say this is because, if you give me a 10-year plan, tell me why that won’t change next year,” he said.
Republicans voted 30-24 to advance the bill to the House Budget Committee, which will tie together the 11 bills under reconciliation on Friday.
Ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J., said Democrats put up a “good fight” throughout the markup. Democrats held up photos and told emotional stories of their constituents who rely on Medicaid, warning that millions of Americans will go uninsured under the GOP plan.
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez got into a testy exchange with GOP Rep. Randy Weber around 3 a.m. Wednesday when she asked a question about consequences for those who had miscarriages under the proposal’s new work requirements to receive Medicare.
“We’d like for you to address the Republicans. Let’s have a dialogue this way and not to a camera,” Weber said.
Talking to the camera Ocasio-Cortez replied, “There are 13.7 million Americans on the other side of that screen there. Hello, hello,” she said, waving to the camera.
“I’m talking to you because I work for you. They deserve to see what is happening here because there are plenty of districts, including Republican ones, where 25 percent of your constituents are on Medicaid, 40 percent of your constituents are on Medicaid,” she added.
Later, Ocasio-Cortez responded to Weber’s comment and said, “I am talking to them [constituents], and I will not yield because it was a terribly disrespectful comment, and I will not yield to disrespectful men.”
Weber apologized to Ocasio Cortez later Wednesday.
SALTy Republicans
Republicans on the Ways and Means Committee advanced part of Trump’s tax bill early Wednesday after a 17 1/2-hour markup, but the state and local tax deductions cap is still in limbo and threatens the entire package — as several GOP lawmakers from states like New York and California object to the current proposal of a $30,000 deduction that is subject to a phaseout for those earning more than $400,000.
“This does not have my support,” New York Rep. Mike Lawler said. “As this stands right now, I am a no, and so they’re going to need to come up with a solution here, and quickly if they want to stay on the schedule that they’ve outlined.”
Lawler said of the proposed $400,000 cap, claiming, “You’re screwing a whole host of people who are getting hammered by property taxes.”
“So, from my vantage point, obviously we are continuing the dialogue with the speaker in good faith, and I am hopeful that we will get there, but this is something where I’m not going to be rolled,” he insisted. “I’m not going to be pushed into supporting something that screws my constituents.”
Rep. Nick LaLota of New York also declared “there is no deal without a true SALT fix.”
“We are far away from a deal but at least we are talking,” he added.
Missouri Rep. Eric Burlison said the SALT Caucus — including Lawler and LaLota — should “stop bitching.”
“You need to get behind the cuts that we need to find the savings that we need to find. Stop bitching,” Burlison said. “The reality is, we’re $37 trillion in debt and we have a $2 trillion deficit. This is a math problem.”
At one point around 5 a.m., Rep. Blake Moore of Utah, who serves as the House Republican Conference vice chairman, fell asleep in his chair.
As a clerk called his name during a roll call vote on an amendment, Moore was snoozing — slouched in his seat, eyes peacefully closed. The clerk repeated his name hoping to wake the congressman with no success. Finally, Rep. Michelle Fischbach of Minnesota leaned over and shook his arm to wake him up.
Moore’s eyes opened in playful embarrassment as the room burst into laughter. He dropped his head low before leaning toward the microphone to vote no before losing himself in laughter.
Despite the push and pull within the conference, some Republicans are clear eyes about delivering a legislative win for the president.
“I would love to see more things done with Medicaid,” North Carolina Rep. Mark Harris said. “But I understand that, and I feel like we just got to look at the big picture.”
The House Budget Committee is slated to convene Friday morning to tie the 11 bills together under reconciliation into Trump’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” before sending it to the Rules Committee and then finally to the floor for a vote next week.
Johnson said Republicans are “still on target” to pass the megabill by his Memorial Day Deadline.
“I feel very good. We’re very positive moving forward,” Johnson said leaving the closed GOP conference meeting. “We’re very optimistic about the path ahead. We’ve got a few more details to work out but we’re going to work them out.”
The post ‘What a joke’: Republicans lock horns over Medicaid proposal appeared first on ABC News.
