Meeting of House Republicans Fails to Reach Deal

By David Morgan

MIAMI (Reuters) – A three-day meeting of U.S. House Republicans, aimed at jumpstarting President Donald Trump’s $4 trillion tax cut agenda, ended on Wednesday without a deal. Party fiscal hawks insisted the plan must reduce the $1.8 trillion federal deficit.

House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson convened the meeting at Trump’s Doral resort in Miami in hopes of achieving consensus on a budget blueprint.

The hardliners’ opposition, coupled with concerns over the nation’s growing $36 trillion debt, puts the tax cut plan in jeopardy in a House where Republicans hold a slim 218-215 majority, which is expected to decrease to 217 seats soon.

“The Republican Party has to stick together,” Trump emphasized at the meeting’s start. “It’d be different if we had a … 30-person majority. But we don’t. We have to help leadership.”

With Republicans controlling a 53-47 Senate majority, Trump is urging legislators to extend his 2017 tax cuts set to expire at year-end, allocate funds for border security, deport undocumented immigrants, and enhance military spending. The projected cost of extending the tax cuts exceeds $4 trillion, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

Additionally, Trump has called for the elimination of federal taxes on tips, overtime, and Social Security benefits.

Republicans can only afford to lose one House member’s support to pass the tax cuts, faced with anticipated united Democratic opposition. This week’s meeting highlighted the widespread Republican opposition.

House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris warned that the plan might lack sufficient savings to significantly reduce the deficit, a key concern among fiscal conservatives. “That will stop the process,” he told Reuters.

The roughly 36 members of the Freedom Caucus are advocating for a budget resolution that demands a $3 trillion reduction in federal government spending over ten years. Harris asserted that any plan identifying lesser cuts would indicate a lack of seriousness about deficit reduction.

Over the past two years, the Freedom Caucus has openly opposed party leadership and recently rejected a Trump proposal to eliminate the statutory debt ceiling.

However, Congress has generally aligned with Trump on tough votes since he took office, with notable support in confirming Pete Hegseth as defense secretary despite criticisms of his conduct.

House Republicans are discussing trillions in potential spending cuts affecting programs like Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, raising concerns among lawmakers worried about impacts on services in their districts. “Before I agree to vote for a budget resolution, I want a better understanding of where these cuts are going to come from and how it will affect my district,” said Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized the Republicans’ tax plans as detrimental to working families, the middle class, seniors, veterans, and the Medicaid healthcare program for the poor.

Trump has restricted options for Republicans by excluding cuts to Medicare and Social Security, which account for about a third of the $6.75 trillion federal budget. This leaves Medicaid and government-subsidized healthcare as potential areas for cuts.

Representative Rich McCormick noted that while specifics can be debated in Medicaid and discretionary spending, the overall budget impact may be limited.

Representative Blake Moore, part of Speaker Johnson’s leadership team, anticipates difficulties in offsetting the costs of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cut, which exceeds $4 trillion over ten years. “Getting to that sweet spot is going to be very, very difficult,” he stated.

Some Republicans argue the cost of the Trump agenda should be viewed through the lens of broader savings, including revenues from tariffs, freezing federal grants and loans, fossil fuel production, and projected economic growth.

Representative Tom Emmer, the chamber’s No. 3 Republican, downplayed the cut discussions as preliminaries to the anticipated floor vote on a House budget resolution next month. “We need to get everybody on board when the day comes to vote on something. Up until then, people can disagree. They can agree to disagree. They can push whatever agenda they think is best,” he concluded.