Don’t let SALT levels bring down the BBB, says Trump

The reaction to President Trump’s meeting with GOP members on Capitol Hill today was decidedly mixed, especially for the so-called SALT Republicans, with leading voices like Representative Mike Lawler of New York saying, “I’m not going to budge” on the issue despite Trump’s demands.

Used to the opposition from the chamber’s last remaining fiscal hawks, much of the focus to this point has been on the typical intransigent wing of the House Freedom Caucus, which still doesn’t like the overall fiscal impact and wanted more significant Medicaid reforms. For them, Trump’s message in the meeting was clear: “Don’t fuck around with Medicaid.” But the bill still has workforce reforms, targets illegal immigrant recipients of the program and may be close enough to get HFC members to yes.

Trump himself seems to have grown far more impatient with the blue-state GOPers who are insistent on much higher moves on SALT, who represent the most significant blockade to passage at this juncture.

“SALT is a very interesting thing. The big J.B. [Pritzker] is going nowhere, probably right now – he could be the worst governor in the country – but Illinois and Gavin ‘Newscum,’ those are the people that want this, and they’re Democrat states,” Trump said in a press gaggle at the Capitol today, a notable move away from his prior comments. Chuck Schumer was quick to rush to the floor to call him out.

Staff for the House Republican Leadership stressed today that they feel, “97 percent of this book has already been written and posted,” and while “the last couple chapters aren’t always the easiest to finish,” they projected confidence – they can’t afford to do anything else. The House Rules Committee starts a marathon session at 1 a.m. ET tonight, which is just the latest in a long series of hurdles. But most Hill Republicans remain convinced this package is just too important not to get across the finish line.