Jan 24, 2025 - Politics & Policy
House GOP looks to Trump to break multitrillion-dollar logjam
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
House Republicans are desperately hoping President Trump will settle their big fights for them next week at their retreat in Miami, even as he's shown no interest in filling that role.
Why it matters: With a zero-vote margin, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will have to make hard decisions to translate Trump's vision into a legislative reality.
- Ahead of the retreat, Johnson is letting his members hash out serious differences on where to cut taxes and slash spending — and how to make the multitrillion-dollar math work.
- But Republicans are running out of time to decide on topline tax and spending levels. Johnson hopes to have a "blueprint" for the reconciliation bill next week, Politico reported.
- "Our members are eager to hear from President Trump and excited to deliver on his America First agenda. We will not fail," House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told Axios on Friday.
Enter Trump, who has made it a priority to keep House and Senate lawmakers close.
- Trump likes talking to members but has shown no willingness to make difficult decisions for them.
- Trump is expected to speak at the retreat on Monday afternoon, Punchbowl reports. He'll join Johnson and Republicans for dinner that evening, Politico reports.
Zoom out: Republicans spent the week floating and privately discussing ways to find revenue sources and lower taxes, according to the New York Times and Punchbowl.
- Some proposals will have difficulty finding support in the GOP conference, such as eliminating the tax deduction for mortgage interest.
- Others are more feasible, such as doubling the current $10,000 deduction limit for state and local taxes (SALT) for married couples.
