President Donald Trump rallied House Republicans behind closed doors to pass his “one big, beautiful bill” as soon as possible – and to quickly resolve their interparty disagreements in the process.
Trump made a rare visit to Capitol Hill just days before the House of Representatives is expected to vote on a massive bill advancing his agenda on tax, immigration, defense, energy and the debt limit.
It is a reflection of the high stakes that congressional Republicans and the White House are facing, with just razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate.
Trump warned House Republicans to not “f— around” with Medicaid and state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps, two significant points of contention for warring GOP factions, two people in the room told Fox News Digital.
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President Donald Trump, left, and House Speaker Mike Johnson are working to pass his “big, beautiful bill.” (Getty Images)
Two people said Trump targeted Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., on SALT specifically. Lawler, one of just three Republicans in districts Trump lost in 2024, has been one of the most vocal proponents of a higher SALT deduction cap.
“I know your district better than you do. If you lose because of SALT, you were going to lose anyway,” Trump said during his remarks, the sources told Fox News Digital.
When asked about those comments by reporters after the meeting, Lawler said, “The issue of SALT is one of the biggest issues impacting my district. It’s the reason I won.”
“I made very clear when I ran for office back in ’22 that I would never support a tax bill that does not adequately lift the cap on SALT,” Lawler said.
Meanwhile, three sources in the room said Trump also targeted Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., who has frustrated both the president and House GOP leaders in the past by bucking the party line. Trump had called Massie a “grandstander” in public comments to reporters minutes before the meeting.
Massie told reporters when asked for his response, “It would be ironic if one of you guys who stopped me, wants to report that I’m a grandstander. Because you are the ones who are performing this, standing. I would be walking.”
“I don’t think he wants to talk about cutting spending,” Massie said of Trump.
President Donald Trump targeted Rep. Mike Lawler, pictured here, in his comments, Fox News Digital was told. (Tierney L. Cross)
SALT deduction caps and Medicaid remain two of the biggest sticking points in Republican negotiations. SALT deduction caps primarily benefit people living in high-cost-of-living areas like New York City, Los Angeles and their surrounding suburbs. Republicans representing those areas have argued that raising the SALT deduction cap is a critical issue and that a failure to address it could cost the GOP the House majority in the 2026 midterms.
Republicans in redder, lower-tax areas have said in response that SALT deductions favor wealthy people living in Democrat-controlled states and that such deductions reward progressive high-tax policies.
It was Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that first instituted caps on SALT deductions – setting the maximum at $10,000 for both married couples and single filers.
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SALT Caucus members like Lawler have rejected House Republican leaders’ offer to increase that to $30,000, but Trump told those Republicans to accept what offer was on the table, according to people in the room.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, meanwhile, are pushing for the bill to be more aggressive in cutting waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid system, including a faster timeline for implementing work requirements for able-bodied recipients. Currently, the legislation has work requirements kicking in 2029.
They also want to restructure Medicaid cost-sharing to put a bigger burden on the states.
Moderates, meanwhile, have been wary of making significant cuts to the program.
President Donald Trump also singled out Rep. Thomas Massie. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
A White House official said Trump stressed he wanted complete unity on the bill, and “made it clear he’s losing patience with all holdout factions of the House Republican Conference, including the SALT Caucus and the House Freedom Caucus.”
He also urged Republicans to debate SALT “later” while warning, “Don’t touch Medicaid except for eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse, including booting off illegal immigrants and common-sense work requirements,” the White House official said.
However, lawmakers leaving the meeting appear to have taken away very different conclusions.
“He’s just like, listen. I think where we’re at with the bill is good, and to keep pushing for more will be difficult,” Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Wis., said of Trump’s Medicaid comments.
House Financial Services Committee Chairman French Hill, R-Ark., similarly said, “I think he’s referring to members who want to change the approach that the Energy & Commerce Committee has taken.”
“He thinks they’ve taken a good, balanced approach to preserve the program, enhance the program, while narrowing the scope and hunting out waste, fraud, and abuse,” Hill said.
Meanwhile, House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital, “I think the president will not mind changes that…decrease waste, fraud, and abuse in the bill.”
However, it is unclear how much Trump’s message moved Republicans who were skeptical of the bill previously.
Harris came out of the meeting insisting the House-wide vote should be delayed, so House Republicans could take more time to negotiate the bill.
Additionally, SALT Caucus Republicans like Lawler, as well as Reps. Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino of New York, indicated to reporters they would oppose the bill as currently written.
Some last-minute changes are expected to be made to the legislation before a 1 a.m. House Rules Committee meeting to advance the bill. The powerful panel acts as the final gatekeeper to most legislation before a House-wide vote.
Rep. Andy Harris said President Donald Trump will likely “not mind changes” to Medicaid. (Getty Images)
However, it is unclear now if changes will be made to SALT deduction caps or Medicaid after Trump urged Republicans to clear up both fights.
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Republicans are working to pass Trump’s policies on tax, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt all in one massive bill via the budget reconciliation process.
Budget reconciliation lowers the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, thereby allowing the party in power to skirt the minority — in this case, Democrats — to pass sweeping pieces of legislation, provided they deal with the federal budget, taxation, or the national debt.
House Republicans are hoping to advance Trump’s bill through the House by the end of this week, with a goal of a final bill on the president’s desk by the Fourth of July.
