Speaker Mike Johnson told House Republicans behind closed doors Thursday that he is pursuing $1.5 trillion in spending cuts as part of the GOP’s party-line megabill, resulting in a smaller tax cuts package of $4 trillion.
The scaled-down component of President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” would present a huge challenge to House Republicans and their ability to include all of their priorities — not to mention the priorities of President Donald Trump — according to three people with direct knowledge of the speaker’s comments.
House Ways and Means Committee Republicans had been previously considering the $4 trillion tax package, as POLITICO first reported, as opposed to its original $4.5 trillion target.
Such a ceiling would also make it near impossible for House Republicans to make Trump’s expiring 2017 tax cuts permanent also while incorporating a host of Trump’s campaign promises. House Republicans have been planning for certain tax cuts and credits to sunset as a cost-saving mechanism.