'Up in the air': GOP struggles with Trump's 'big beautiful bill' as economic cliff looms

Republicans in the House and Senate are still struggling to piece together the details of the "big, beautiful bill" President Donald Trump wants on tax cuts, energy, and border security — but are making little progress and starting to fret that the economy might crash before they can get anything done, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday.

The fundamental issues they want to tackle are large and fraught, reported Jacob Bogage: "Major portions of Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act are set to expire at the end of 2025. That law cut rates for virtually all taxpayers, though it concentrated the most benefits among wealthy individuals and corporations. ... Trump also has called for massive new spending for national security and to deport undocumented immigrants. He has repeatedly called for a 'golden dome' continental missile defense system that experts say could cost trillions of dollars."

And that's even without Trump's pledges to abolish taxes on tips, Social Security benefits, overtime wages, and a host of other things.

All of this would need to be passed in a budget reconciliation package, a procedural vehicle that, in return for focusing solely on budget items, bypasses a Senate filibuster and can be passed without any Democratic votes. That will be necessary as the GOP wants to finance these changes in part with cuts to Medicaid and food assistance, which Democrats are expected to universally oppose.

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Both chambers managed to dodge a major bullet earlier this month when they passed continuing funding for the government with the help from a small contingent of Senate Democrats, averting a shutdown until later in the year. But that was just one of many issues that could derail their agenda.

The main thing a lot of Republicans are worried about is that Trump's draconian tariffs on key trading partners, which increasingly divide the party, could trigger a recession. Complicating things further, the debt ceiling will need to be raised at some point between July and October to avoid a catastrophic default on U.S. credit, which would immediately send markets into chaos.

Many GOP hardliners flatly oppose these increases, leaving the GOP undecided on whether to lump that in with the reconciliation bill or do it separately.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis expressed the party's anxiety to The Post: “In general, the private sector wants certainty. They want predictability. While so many things are up in the air — whether it’s tariffs or taxes, regulations — that makes it difficult. So we have to ensure, No. 1, that the tax code from 2017 does not expire. Second of all, we need to make sure that things that have already expired or are sunsetting ... are renewed.”