House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he plans to pass the GOP's "big, beautiful bill" to fund President Donald Trump's agenda by Memorial Day. But so far he is running into one major obstacle: infighting among Republicans.
Some House Republicans are growing weary of the bill, which partly is seeking to cut popular programs like Medicaid. They are now struggling to balance their loyalty to the president while also keeping their constituents content ahead of the 2026 midterm elections as they add what The Washington Post is describing as "red lines" to the legislation.
"Some of these are clearly in conflict," said Rohit Kumar, the co-leader of PricewaterhouseCoopers' national tax office and a former aide to Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) about the growing list of policy "no-gos" that are constantly appearing on the bill.
One of the most contentious aspects of the bill involves cuts to Medicaid. While Trump and Johnson have pledged to not end benefits, the Congressional Budget Office said it would be impossible to find the bill's proposed $880 billion in cuts without targeting Medicaid, Medicare or the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Some members of the GOP have pledged to completely oppose any changes to Medicaid, while others, like Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Josh Hawley (R-Missouri) have said they are open to adding work requirements to Medicaid but will not vote to cut benefits.
Likewise, a dozen House Republicans warned Johnson in a letter last month that they "cannot and will not support a final reconciliation bill that includes any reduction in Medicaid coverage for vulnerable populations. "There's about 25 people that have real concerns, but I know there's eight to 10 that are serious as a heart attack about this," said Rep. Jeff Ven Drew (R-New Jersey), who signed the letter.
Another major "red line" in the bill, according to The Washington Post, is the state and local tax deduction cap. Five House Republicans— Reps. Nick LaLota, Andrew Garbarino and Michael Lawler of New York, as well as Young Kim of California and Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey, say they won't vote for legislation to extend the 2017 tax cuts passed during the first Trump administration unless the $10,000 cap is lifted.
"The levels for each of the five of us are a little bit different on what solves the day for as many middle-class families as possible, but we're going to stick together to get as much progress as possible," LaLota told reporters.
Other congressmembers have crossed proposals on their own. Like Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), who said last week he would not vote for the bill unless it reduced spending to 2019 levels, which he acknowledged was unlikely to happen, or Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky who said he opposes the bill due to the proposal to raise the debt limit to $5 trillion.
Johnson has said he plans to pass the "big, beautiful bill" by Memorial Day, though the Senate has a new July 4th deadline. Ultimately, however, the reconciliation package will depend on bicameral agreement.
After it passes the House, "I hope [senators] don't do much to modify it," Johnson told Axios last week, stressing there are "no secrets or surprises" over the legislation.
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