GOP centrists revolt against steep cuts to Medicaid and other programs in Trump's tax breaks bill

Source: AP

Updated 7:30 AM EDT, May 8, 2025


WASHINGTON (AP) — When it comes to Medicaid, Rep. Juan Ciscomani is telling fellow Republicans he won’t support steep cuts that could hit thousands of residents in his Arizona district — “my neighbors, people my kids go to school with” — who depend on it.

Republican Rep. Don Bacon, who represents the liberal-leaning “blue dot” of Omaha, Nebraska, is trying to protect several Biden-era green energy tax breaks. He’s warning colleagues that “you can’t pull the rug out from under” businesses that have already sunk millions of dollars into renewable developments in Nebraska and beyond.

And for Republican Rep. Nick LaLota of New York, it’s simple: “No Salt. No Deal. For Real.” He wants to revive — and bump up — what’s known as the SALT deduction, which allows taxpayers to write off a portion of their state and local taxes. Capping the deduction at $10,000 hurt many of his Long Island constituents. “Governing is a negotiation, right?” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, another Republican who is also involved in the talks. “I think everybody is going to have to give a little.”

As GOP leaders draft President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” of some $4.5 trillion in tax breaks and $1.5 trillion in spending cuts by Memorial Day, dozens of Republicans from contested congressional districts have positioned themselves at the center of the negotiating table.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/tax-cuts-medicaid-cuts-food-stamps-tariffs-9adf4640c67535117c71165b106f6379