By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump made a special appearance at a weekly House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday morning, urging GOP lawmakers to unite behind his sweeping legislative agenda.
During the high-stakes visit on Capitol Hill, Trump pressed House Republicans to support what he calls his “one, big, beautiful bill.” The meeting comes as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Republican leadership prepare for a potential floor vote on the massive spending package as early as this week.
As of Tuesday morning, not all Republicans were fully on board. Some members remain concerned about state and local tax deductions—commonly referred to as SALT—Medicaid work requirements and overall federal spending levels.
“We have a very, very united party,” said Trump as he arrived at the Capitol.
Still, the president did not hold back from criticizing GOP holdouts threatening the passage of what could become the largest domestic policy win of his second term.
“I don’t think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he’s a grandstander, frankly,” Trump said, referring to Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), who has vowed to vote “no” due to high spending.
Trump also applied pressure to Republicans still undecided, particularly those concerned about proposed Medicaid cuts and those advocating for higher SALT deduction caps.
“His message was what it always is. He says, you know what, we have to do these things. It’s not 100% everything you want, but it’s 100% what the country needs right now,” said Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.).
Inside the closed-door meeting, Republicans said Trump doubled down on his commitment to protect Medicaid while rooting out waste, fraud and abuse. The original plan proposed stricter Medicaid work requirements beginning in 2029, but GOP hardliners have pushed for an earlier implementation—an idea gaining traction among other House Republicans.
“I think the work requirements– if we’re going to pass new tax legislation which will go into effect in January of 2026, the work requirements should come right in along with them,” said Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI).
“The president has not flinched one iota. He wants to protect Medicaid,” said Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-N.Y.). “We’ve eliminated waste, fraud and abuse. We’ve put a commonsense work requirement in that hopefully actually gets moved up.”
SALT deductions also remain a sticking point. Some downstate New York Republicans and members of the SALT Caucus are demanding a higher SALT deduction cap. The current $10,000 limit was imposed by Trump’s 2017 tax law. The latest version of the spending package would raise the cap to $30,000.
Langworthy’s message for his downstate colleagues is: “Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.”
“We have a great bill here,” he said. “And SALT can’t be the reason it doesn’t get over the finish line.”
As of Tuesday afternoon, the House Rules Committee was scheduled to meet at 1 a.m. Wednesday to finalize the legislation. If approved by the Rules Committee early Wednesday morning, leadership could bring the bill to the floor for a vote as soon as Wednesday evening—if they feel they have the votes to pass it.
Speaker Johnson can afford to lose only three Republican votes for the bill to clear the House.
