House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) took a victory lap in a speech Thursday in which he cheered President Donald Trump for his leadership. Meanwhile, the bill he's so excited about still must pass the Senate — and things aren't looking good.
"Today wouldn't be possible without the leadership of arguably the most powerful and most successful and most respected president in the modern era of United States," Johnson gushed about Trump.
Reuters reported later on Thursday that U.S. Senators will "seek substantial changes" to the bill that the House passed in the early hours of Thursday morning.
"I expect there will be considerable changes in the Senate," said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).
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While many Republicans agree with the extension of the Trump tax cuts and cutting food stamps and Medicaid, some do not. In a narrow majority, losing several GOP votes could mean more changes to the House version of the bill.
Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Susan Collins (R-ME), for example, oppose Medicaid cuts for low-income Americans. Hawley said that he also spoke with Trump about closing a loophole that allows lower taxes for rich private equity investors.
"They ought to close the carried interest loophole," Hawley said. Doing so could have increased revenue.
Hawley also wants to expand the $2,500-per-child tax credit.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) is angry about the amount the bill adds to the deficit and green-energy tax incentives.
Speaking to reporters, Tillis said, "We're definitely going to have to seek more savings."
Sens Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Rand Paul (R-KY) similarly take issue with the continued deficit spending under the GOP president.
Johnson told Reuters he wouldn't vote for the bill as it stands.
Other than the lack of spending cuts, Paul refuses to support the $4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling,
"I'll consider voting if they take the debt ceiling off of it," he said.
Reuters said that Senate Leader John Thune (R-SD) was careful with his words when speaking on the matter.
"They gave us a good product to work with," Thune said Thursday. "But we want to have — and have — senators who want to write our own bill."
Trump asked the House to combine all of his legislative demands into one "big beautiful bill" that included the extension of his 2017 tax cuts, his mass deportation plan, border security and other spending.