Late Tuesday night, the markup hearing for Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Bill” continued into Wednesday, focusing on government spending cuts within massive legislation.
Specifically, three House committees—Energy, Commerce, and Agriculture—discussed significant elements of the bill. They tackled topics like major Medicaid changes, reforms to the Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the handling of state and local tax contributions, commonly referred to as SALT.
This hearing attracted a crowd of protesters to Washington, D.C.
Capitol police arrested over 20 demonstrators just after the House Energy Commerce Committee’s session started around 2 PM. Some of the protestors were in wheelchairs, chanting, “There’s no Medicaid cuts.”
As reported by Capitol Police, 26 individuals were taken into custody for “crowding, obstructing, and inclusion,” both inside and outside the meeting room.
Changes proposed by Republicans regarding Medicaid include enforcing 80-hour work requirements for adults aged 19 to 64, barring large abortion providers from receiving state funds, charging recipients $35 per health service if they earn above the federal poverty line, and limiting pharmacies from charging managers more than they actually pay for medications.
The program was allocated around $618 billion in the 2024 federal budget and insures over 70 million low-income Americans.
At the time of reporting, the Energy and Commerce panel had yet to vote on covering the 10 hours of debate and proceeding with the proposed law.
Similarly, discussions within the House Ways and Means Committee extended past midnight after beginning at 2:30 PM on Tuesday.
The GOP-controlled committee rejected all amendments from Democrats, particularly one from Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) that sought to increase the SALT deduction cap to $80,000 and raise the top tax rate from 37% to 39.6%.
Currently, the proposed package aims to raise the SALT deduction cap from $10,000 to $30,000 for taxable individuals earning under $400,000, though this hasn’t satisfied several lawmakers from Blue States, including members of New York’s GOP delegation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) expressed optimism that an agreement on a more acceptable SALT cap could be reached by Wednesday.
“It’s probably happening tomorrow because we need a joint tax advisor to finalize the numbers,” he said. “We’re examining various facts and figures, so I think the final analysis will be ready tomorrow.”
Nick LaRota (R-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) mentioned last week that the $30,000 cap seemed “inhuman,” yet progress appears to be gathering pace.
“There’s more constructive dialogue in this room than we’ve seen before, and while there’s still a lot to accomplish, we’re beginning to narrow in on specific numbers,” LaRota shared with reporters. “We’ve discussed some variables that seem to make more sense than what we were reviewing before, but we’re far from an agreement.”
He indicated that “thousands of billions of dollars” remain available, implying it could assist in addressing SALT issues.
Meanwhile, Lawler referred to the discussions with Johnson as “productive,” expressing hope for further conversations and clarity on the direction ahead.
On another front, the House Agriculture Committee remained stagnant late Tuesday night, not moving forward with any legislation.
This committee is aiming to cut federal spending by at least $230 billion, focusing on many administrative costs tied to the Food Stamp Program and requiring states to share a portion of SNAP’s profits based on error rates.
Additionally, changes to SNAP’s work requirements are on the agenda.
If these three panels approve sections of the legislation, it will transition to the House Budget Committee, which seeks to prolong Trump’s first-term tax cuts and support the president’s initiatives on border security and energy.
Should the Budget Panel, which synthesizes the extensive bill, endorse the proposal, it will then proceed to the House floor for a vote.
