President Donald Trump paid a visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, pushing House Republicans to pass the “one big, beautiful bill” with encouragement mixed with some criticism.

Trump told reporters his meeting with GOP lawmakers was about “love” and “unity,” but then mentioned, “Anybody that didn’t support it as a Republican, I would consider to be a fool.”

House Republicans continue to clash about spending cuts and certain provisions in the bill that is progressing through Congress via the reconciliation process, aiming to provide funding for Trump’s domestic priorities, retain the 2017 tax cuts, raise the debt limit, and more.

One key component that threatens to derail the House bid to pass the bill is the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. GOP members from high-tax blue states are fighting for a higher limit than the $30,000 that made it into the legislation.

Trump urged House Republicans not to let SALT impede the bill’s progress, noting they could fight about the issue in the future, a source familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire.

Medicaid has been another sticking point.

According to the source, Trump told Republicans not to touch the program, except for removing waste, fraud, and abuse — such as booting off illegal immigrants and common-sense work requirements.

Trump conveyed that he is losing patience with all holdouts in the House GOP, including the SALT Caucus and the conservative House Freedom Caucus pushing for more extensive spending cuts, per the source. He also made it clear that he wants every Republican to vote in favor of the bill.

With a slim House majority and near-certain Democrat opposition, Republicans can likely afford only a few defectors to send the bill to the Senate.

One person Trump publicly called out was Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) after a reporter noted that the congressman suggested the bill would result in “Biden levels” of spending and bigger deficits.

“I don’t think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he’s a grandstander, frankly,” Trump said before the meeting, adding later, “I think he should be voted out of office.”

Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman posted on X that Trump “griped” about Massie while speaking to House Republicans. “He asked if Massie was in the room, which he was, and then compared him to [Republican Senator from Kentucky] RAND PAUL. He said he could never get their votes no matter what,” the journalist added.

Massie alluded to the exchange with a tongue-in-cheek post of his own.

“I usually don’t talk about private conversations in our GOP meetings but the rumors are true… President Trump said that although I have similar hair to @RandPaul, he thinks mine is better,” Massie said.

​[#item_full_content]  

​[[{“value”:”

President Donald Trump paid a visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, pushing House Republicans to pass the “one big, beautiful bill” with encouragement mixed with some criticism.

Trump told reporters his meeting with GOP lawmakers was about “love” and “unity,” but then mentioned, “Anybody that didn’t support it as a Republican, I would consider to be a fool.”

House Republicans continue to clash about spending cuts and certain provisions in the bill that is progressing through Congress via the reconciliation process, aiming to provide funding for Trump’s domestic priorities, retain the 2017 tax cuts, raise the debt limit, and more.

One key component that threatens to derail the House bid to pass the bill is the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap. GOP members from high-tax blue states are fighting for a higher limit than the $30,000 that made it into the legislation.

Trump urged House Republicans not to let SALT impede the bill’s progress, noting they could fight about the issue in the future, a source familiar with the matter told The Daily Wire.

Medicaid has been another sticking point.

According to the source, Trump told Republicans not to touch the program, except for removing waste, fraud, and abuse — such as booting off illegal immigrants and common-sense work requirements.

Trump conveyed that he is losing patience with all holdouts in the House GOP, including the SALT Caucus and the conservative House Freedom Caucus pushing for more extensive spending cuts, per the source. He also made it clear that he wants every Republican to vote in favor of the bill.

With a slim House majority and near-certain Democrat opposition, Republicans can likely afford only a few defectors to send the bill to the Senate.

One person Trump publicly called out was Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) after a reporter noted that the congressman suggested the bill would result in “Biden levels” of spending and bigger deficits.

“I don’t think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he’s a grandstander, frankly,” Trump said before the meeting, adding later, “I think he should be voted out of office.”

Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman posted on X that Trump “griped” about Massie while speaking to House Republicans. “He asked if Massie was in the room, which he was, and then compared him to [Republican Senator from Kentucky] RAND PAUL. He said he could never get their votes no matter what,” the journalist added.

Massie alluded to the exchange with a tongue-in-cheek post of his own.

“I usually don’t talk about private conversations in our GOP meetings but the rumors are true… President Trump said that although I have similar hair to @RandPaul, he thinks mine is better,” Massie said.

“}]] 

 

Sign up to receive our newsletter

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.