Axios Hill Leaders

April 30, 2025
We've got news. 943 words, 3.5 minutes.
- π° Trump's new demands
- π₯ Old guard fights back
- β¨ Scoop: Big, beautiful names
- π€¬ Quote du jour: Schumer's Trump "hate"
1 big thing: π° Trump's new demands

The Trump administration is pressing Congress to dramatically expand the number of business-friendly tax cuts in a budget bill that's already complicated and costly.
Why it matters: New additions, such as full expensing to build new factories in the U.S., are leading to confusion among senators and staffers on what President Trump absolutely must have in his tax bill and how much it will ultimately cost.
- "It comes down to, how do you pay for it and how does it fit into our other priorities?" Sen. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.) told us.
- "We're having such a difficult time getting 'pay fors' for the other policies in the bill. We've got to have that discussion about timing and priority."
Driving the news: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and White House National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett explained to House and Senate leaders β the Big Six β yesterday that Trump wanted the tax portions of the bill to focus on bringing manufacturing jobs back to America.
- The administration wants "deductibility for auto loans for American-made cars, and immediate expensing, 100% expensing for equipment," Bessent told reporters afterward.
- "And we are going to add factory structures for that also."
- Bessent doubled down this morning: "Bring your factory back, you can fully expense the equipment and the building," he said at the White House.
Zoom in: Some of the provisions Bessent mentioned to senators β like auto loan deductions β have been raised by Trump before, but many senators didn't think they were part of his core goals.
- They assumed Trump's priority was on extending his 2017 bill and then making good on core campaign promises, like ending taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits.
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told us he hasn't heard of the factory proposal, but said, "All this has a dollar impact. β¦ Ultimately, we've got to get the president's signature. So we're going to have to accommodate what he wants."
- It's one of the administration's best tax proposals," Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said about the expensing proposal.
Between the lines: Bessent also told senators the administration wants to lower the corporate tax rate for U.S. manufacturers from 21% to 15%.
- Trump mentioned lowering the top rate during the campaign, but it wasn't a staple of his rallies.
- Most recently, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president had not made a decision on whether he wanted to raise it.
- Many senators assumed it would stay at 21%.
βΒ Hans Nichols and Stef Kight
2. π₯ Old guard fights back

Rep. Gerry Connolly's (D-Va.) shock announcement that he plans to step down as the ranking member of the House Oversight Committee is set to open yet another front in Democrats' intergenerational war.
Why it matters: The old guard is preparing to fight back against their younger, social media-savvy colleagues.
- Left-wing critics heaped scorn on House Democrats for electing Connolly β a 75-year-old with esophageal cancer β to lead their party on a panel that runs investigations into the Trump administration.
But Connolly's interim replacement, 70-year-old Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), told us he plans to run for the role and is clear-eyed about the outside pressure bearing down on his colleagues to choose a younger lawmaker.
- "The base is responding to social media, so they're pushing the people that they see on social media," he said. "I get that."
- "There is a job to be done β and as an attorney, this is an investigations committee, and so it's serious business. It's not going to be run in the press," Lynch told us.
- Some lawmakers are lining up behind Lynch: "I have a preference for seniority, assuming ability, and I think Lynch is surely able," said Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the former House majority leader.
Between the lines: Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas), 44, is expected to throw her hat in the ring.
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), 35, who lost the role to Connolly last December and subsequently left Oversight, is mulling a bid to return to the panel as ranking member.
What we're hearing: Some House Democrats believe the months of upheaval within the grassroots base since Connolly's election could help swing things in favor of the younger wing of the party.
- One lawmaker cited a conversation they had with a roughly 65-year-old colleague who expressed regrets about voting for Connolly in December.
- "I think that seniority culture here is beginning to significantly shift from this assumption that automatically the person that is next on the committee becomes ranking member," said another House Democrat.
Yes, but: Others cautioned not to overweigh the importance of external factors on House Democratic elections.
- "I don't think that what folks say on Twitter has a huge effect on how these elections happen," a third House Democrat told us.
β Andrew Solender
3. β¨ Scoop: Big, beautiful names
New internal GOP polling found that "Make America Prosperous Act" is the favorite choice among independent voters for Trump's "one big, beautiful bill," we scooped today.
- "More Money for Americans Act" was the GOP voter favorite.
- Democratic voters preferred the name "Less Taxes, More Pay Act."
The potential names were brainstormed by various members of the Senate GOP conference, according to a person involved.
β Stef Kight
4. π€¬ Quote du jour: Schumer hates Trump

"I hate Trump as much as they do," Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer told the Washington Post.
- Schumer was defending himself against progressive critics who say he should do more to stand up to Trump.
This newsletter was edited by Justin Green and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich.
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