Senate flirts with deeper cuts
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Key Senate Republicans strategized with Trump today on how to cut spending deeper than the House-passed budget bill.
Why it matters: "Failure is not an option," Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters after the hour-and-a-half meeting.
- "We are going to cut some more money from what the House has done," Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kansas.) told us.
- "Can we get to $2 trillion? Do we make all those business tax provisions permanent or not?" he said. "I think those are the big issues."
Inside the room: Members of the Senate Finance Committee were joined by Vice President Vance, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett and Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.
- Hassett shared his own economic forecasts, suggesting that the economy can grow faster than 4% annually if the bill is passed into law.
- "The President is so positive about the 4.6 growth number," Marshall said. "The tariff money coming in is more than we were expecting."
Between the lines: The SALT deduction cap, a key sticking point with the House, came up.
- Thune has been clear the Senate has some serious policy differences on raising the cap to $40,000, as the House bill does.
- But he also signaled flexibility on SALT. "It's about 51 and 218 so we will work with our house counterparts and the White House to try and get that," Thune said.
Zoom out: Thune is barreling forward to try to meet a July 4th deadline with major, lingering disputes in his conference — and with the House.
- Text of the One Big Beautiful Bill (Senate's Version) is now rolling out — beginning with some of the easier parts as Republicans hash out major differences over Medicaid, taxes and spending cuts.
What to watch: The Finance committee will be the last across the finish line, grappling with the biggest and most controversial parts of the bill — taxes and Medicaid.
— Hans Nichols and Stef Kight
