It’s high noon for the Republican megabill.
Senate Republican leaders are pushing ahead with plans to take an initial procedural vote on their package of tax and spending cuts at noon on Saturday, even as it’s not yet clear that they have the votes they’ll need.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota reportedly told his members Friday that they can expect the text of the massive bill this evening ahead of a vote tomorrow to kick off debate on the legislation.
Asked if he has 50 votes, Thune told reporters: “We’ll find out tomorrow.”
Some senators still have concerns over the Medicaid cuts in the package or the costs of the overall plan. But the White House reportedly hashed out a tentative deal with House Republicans from New York, New Jersey and California who were pushing to raise the annual limit on state and local tax (SALT) deductions from the current $10,000 to $40,000. Those House Republicans have enough votes to potentially scuttle any bill that comes back from the Senate.
The House-passed version of the legislation included that SALT increase to $40,000 for households making less than $500,000 a year, but Senate Republicans wanted to dial back the cap and adjust the details of the deal to lower the cost of the tax break. (No Senate Republican hails from a high-tax blue state.) The latest agreement reportedly keeps the $40,000 cap for only five years and reverts to the $10,000 limit after that, cutting the cost to about $192 billion.
House Speaker Mike Johnson and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent sought to sell Senate Republicans on the deal during a lunch meeting Friday and, according to Politico, Johnson told reporters afterward that he thought the party is “very, very close to closing that issue.”
Johnson reportedly also told senators that he wants to do another reconciliation bill after this one, providing an opportunity for more spending cuts or other priorities.
What’s next: It’s a fiscal cliffhanger! Republicans have plenty of details left to iron out — and votes to wrangle, as several senators have not yet said whether they’re ready to move ahead with debate on the bill. Thune acknowledged that the timing of the vote could still slip. President Donald Trump on Friday eased off his July 4 deadline, telling reporters that lawmakers have more time if needed. “It can go longer,” he said, “but we’d like to get it done by that time if possible.”