House GOP Negotiates SALT Cap Amid Trump Tax Bill Push

President Donald Trump urged House Republicans to stop pushing for further changes to the large tax bill and to pass it within the week, emphasizing the need to finalize negotiations. Despite some conservatives' demands for alterations to Medicaid funding and a higher state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap, Trump signaled that the SALT deduction, which mainly benefits high-tax Democratic states, is not a central concern for the Republican Party. House Speaker Mike Johnson met with SALT holdouts from high-tax states like New York but did not secure an agreement, although he remains optimistic about reaching a deal before a planned vote. Republicans have proposed raising the SALT cap temporarily to $30,000 or higher, but some lawmakers from affected states consider proposals with a significant rollback unacceptable. The impasse over the SALT deduction remains a key obstacle in advancing the tax bill through the narrowly divided House GOP. Trump characterized the party as largely unified despite a few holdouts insisting on specific changes to Medicaid and SALT provisions.