President Donald Trump on Tuesday pressed his fellow Republicans in the U.S. Congress to unite behind a sweeping tax-cut bill, but apparently failed to convince a handful of holdouts who could still block a package that encompasses much of his domestic agenda.
In a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, Trump bluntly warned Republicans in the House of Representatives not to press for further changes to the sprawling bill, which would cut taxes and tighten eligibility for the Medicaid health programme.
He strongly cautioned against further plans to make it more difficult for people to access Medicaid, a programme for low-income Americans. “Don’t fuck around with Medicaid,” he told them, according to a person in the room who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump also discouraged Republicans from seeking further carve-outs for state and local tax payments – a niche issue that is especially important for moderate Republicans in high-tax states including California and New York.
The bill would extend the 2017 tax cuts that were Trump’s signature first-term legislative achievement, and also add tax breaks on income from tips and overtime pay that were part of his populist push on the campaign trail. Nonpartisan analysts say it could add $3 trillion to $5 trillion to the federal government’s $36.2 trillion in debt.
But Trump failed to convince some lawmakers who are pushing for those provisions.
“The president I don’t think convinced enough people that the bill is adequate the way it is,” said Republican Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, who leads the hard-right House Freedom Caucus and has been pushing for further Medicaid cuts.
Republican Representative Mike Lawler, a New York moderate who is pushing to raise limits on deductions for state and local tax payments, likewise said Trump did not change his mind.
“As it stands right now, I do not support the bill,” he said.
Trump is pressing for unanimous support among House Republicans who control the chamber by a 220-213 majority. He said opponents might be drummed out of the party. “They wouldn’t be a Republican much longer,” he said after the meeting. “They would be knocked out so fast.”
Democrats say the bill disproportionately benefits the wealthy and will take a deep bite out of social programmes, but Republicans are invoking special budget rules to pass the package without their support.
Hanging over Republicans is a move by credit-rating firm Moody’s, which last week stripped the U.S. federal government of its top-tier credit rating. It cited multiple administrations and Congress failing to address the nation’s growing debt.
The yield on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes has risen since that Friday cut, a sign of investor concern about the debt.
Reuters