As Republicans try to downplay any insinuation that their sweeping MAGA budget bill will cut Medicaid, one key GOP lawmaker had to hastily correct himself after blurting out the bill would do precisely that on Fox News.
“And then you can look at Medicaid cuts — Medicaid reforms, I should say,” Rep. Jason Smith (R-MO) said in the segment.
Smith chairs the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which is heavily involved in the drafting of the bill. The legislation, which President Donald Trump calls his "big, beautiful bill," uses a non-filibusterable budget reconciliation vehicle to pass tax cuts, energy deregulation, and border security in one fell swoop.
But the bill has been running into problem after problem that has left GOP leadership struggling to find the votes for it in their razor-thin House majority.
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A number of different lawmakers from all across the Republican caucus have objections to the bill. The conservative hardliners are suspicious that House leadership isn't being honest about the bill's true impact on deficit spending. Meanwhile, the Medicaid cuts, which are being largely accomplished through burdensome new work requirements, are making several swing-district lawmakers queasy.
Another major sticking point has been the state and local tax deduction (SALT), which Republicans capped at $10,000 in Trump's 2017 tax bill. New York Republicans want the cap abolished entirely, and are refusing to meet in the middle with GOP leadership, who proposed a compromise where the cap is raised to $30,000.
