Updated May 20, 2025 at 12:39 PM CDT
President Trump travelled to Capitol Hill Tuesday to personally persuade holdouts within his own party to get behind a massive bill meant to advance much of the GOP agenda.
Trump outwardly ignored the divisions still plaguing efforts to finalize the legislation ahead of a deadline from House Speaker Mike Johnson to vote on the bill before Memorial Day. Instead, Trump declared his party was unified.
"This is really just a pep talk. We have a very unified House, and we have a very unified Senate," Trump said as he entered the meeting. "I don't think the Republican Party has ever been so unified."
It's rare for one single bill to contain the bulk of a president's legislative agenda, but Trump has pushed Republicans in Congress to pass tax cuts, spending cuts, deregulation and a boost in border security funding in what he calls "one big, beautiful bill."
Writing legislation that meets those demands has exposed rifts within the GOP-led House and Senate that threaten to derail the bill entirely.
Trump and GOP leaders are working to convince three main groups to support the bill:
- Hardline fiscal hawks who are demanding deficit reduction
- Members who want to protect access to Medicaid, the federal-state health insurance program for people with disabilities and low-income adults
- Blue state Republicans who are pushing to lift the cap on the deduction for state and local taxes (SALT)
Members leaving the meeting said Trump was enjoying himself, making jokes, speaking off the cuff and taking questions while stressing that he wants holdouts to get in line and get the bill passed.
"The president made an incredibly convincing case. He was as passionate on those policy issues as I've seen him. He was emphatic — we need to quit screwing around," said South Dakota Rep. Dusty Johnson, who chairs the Main Street Caucus. "That was the clear message: 'Ya'll have tinkered enough. It is time to land the plane.'"
Johnson added that "98%" of the conference is on board with the bill as written.
"I think with the holdouts, [Trump] did move them. I don't know that we are there yet, but that was a hugely impactful meeting," he said.
Multiple members said Trump told them not to touch the cap on the deduction of SALT, one of the major points of opposition within the conference.
New York Rep. Mike Lawler is one of the members pushing to raise that cap and said the president's comments do not change his position.
"While I respect the president, I'm not budging on it," he told reporters. "The issue of SALT is one of the biggest issues impacting my district. It's the reason I won."
Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett called it a "positive and uplifting meeting." Burchett, a member of the Freedom Caucus, has been skeptical of the bill.
"It's like an NBA ball game, wait til the last two minutes and watch it — and we're about at two minutes and 30 seconds right now," Burchett said as he left the meeting. "I think there'll be a little arm twisting, a little gnashing of teeth. But I think the president will deliver like he always does. Don't count him out."
Trump has frequently threatened the political careers of Republicans who disobey him, and focused his ire Tuesday on one holdout, Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie, who says he will not back the bill.
"I think he should be voted out of office," Trump said. "And I just don't think he understands government."
Pressure from Pennsylvania Avenue
House leaders have long praised Trump for being involved and available throughout the legislative process.
"Every step of the way, when there were questions, when there were final decisions that had to be made, [President Trump] was always one phone call away," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters last week. "And he'll continue to be."
Trump has promised he would extend the tax cuts from his first term and add new ones, including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security. These cuts have added to the cost of the bill.
He has been less opinionated on specifics about how to pay for the bill or how long provisions should last.
Two former Trump aides who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to describe private conversations described Trump as being very persuasive in one-on-one conversations, calling him the "ultimate closer" who makes it hard for members to say no.
Among the remaining skeptics are members of the House Freedom Caucus, which is focused on obtaining significant deficit reduction.
Several of members of the group tanked a budget committee vote on Friday, causing House GOP leaders to spend the weekend negotiating with holdouts to get closer to consensus.
Late Sunday night, that same committee advanced the bill — with the original holdouts voting "present."
Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy said he voted present "out of respect for the Republican Conference and the President to move the bill forward."
The Freedom Caucus has already secured some concessions — namely the acceleration of the implementation of work requirements to Medicaid — but that has frustrated members who worried that the existing House could threaten coverage for more than 8.6 million people enrolled in the program. The SALT advocates are also fundamentally at odds with the hardline cost-cutting group.
NPR's Elena Moore contributed to this report.
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