House works into the night as Republicans push ahead on Trump’s big bill

By LISA MASCARO and KEVIN FREKING Associated Press WASHINGTON AP Tax breaks tallying more than trillion but also sizable reductions in Medicaid fitness care food stamps and green potential strategies to fight conditions change faced sharp debate as House lawmakers slogged through marathon overnight hearings on Republicans big beautiful bill Tensions rose and emotions flared as the hours dragged on into early Wednesday morning House Republicans are working to push President Donald Trump s signature legislative package through a gauntlet of committees and mounting opposition from Democrats advocacy groups and even specific wary Republicans themselves Right from the start one meeting was directly disrupted by protesters shouting down what the panel s top Democrat called cruel cuts to Medicaid People feel very strong because they know they re losing their medical care noted Rep Frank Pallone D-N J on the Vigor Commerce Committee Tuesday afternoon And on it went As midnight passed two panels were still going processing more than amendments from Democrats that were largely failing as Republicans marched ahead with their plan It s the biggest political and legislative debate for the Republicans leading Congress since Trump s first term setting up a career-defining clash over the nation s priorities all coming at a time of economic unease with Trump s pact war and other uncertainties Trump speaking at a forum in the Middle East struck an ambitious chord saying Congress was on the verge of passing the largest tax cut and regulation cut in American history President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he signs an executive order in the Oval Office of the White House Friday May in Washington AP Photo Alex Brandon If we get that that will be like a rocket ship for our country Trump disclosed in Saudi Arabia But to be sure there are numerous more procedures before the package becomes law At its core the goal for GOP lawmakers is to extend and enhance tax cuts approved in adding the president s campaign promises for no taxes on tips Social Defense income and car loan interest There s also larger standard deduction for couples a boost to the Child Tax Credit and a potentially higher cap of on state and local tax deductions known as SALT that s still being negotiated That s offset by trillion in savings largely from the rollback of green force tax credits for a net tally of trillion in costs over the decade according to the the greater part newest estimates along with billions more in savings from the safety net cuts Additionally the Republicans are boosting spending on their GOP priorities with billion for Trump s mass deportation plans and funding for the Pentagon At the same time the Republicans are seeking to defray the lost tax revenue and avoid skyrocketing national deficits by with another GOP goal which is scaling back federal spending The Republicans are proposing cuts of nearly billion over the decade to the Medicaid physical condition care undertaking which is used by million Americans billion to food aid in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Scheme known as SNAP and others Tucked into the package is a smattering of other provisions fundamental to the White House including one that would allow the Trump administration to yank the tax exempt status of groups it says advocacy terrorists sending a chill through civil society organizations who warn it s a way to punish opponents House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries accused Republicans of jamming another GOP tax scam that benefits the wealthy at the expense of programs and services used by a great number of Americans Related Articles Trump tells Gulf leaders Iran must cease sponsorship of proxy groups as part of any nuclear deal Trump meets with Syria s insurgent-turned-leader in Saudi Arabia Other voices DOGE s damage makes way for serious leadership overhaul Timothy Shriver If you want to solve problems lose the contempt Hegseth s plan to cut senior military jobs could hit more than high-ranking officers Speaker Mike Johnson is determined to push the package through the House by Memorial Day sending it to the Senate where Republicans are working on their own version Johnson and his leadership club have been conferring constantly with Trump at every step Rep Jason Smith the Republican chairman of the Tactics Means tax writing committee announced he met with Trump on Friday and went over the tax provisions line by line He was very happy with what we re delivering Smith reported On Tuesday the final three of House committees working on the package launched what would become lengthy meetings drilling down on selected of the largest components Early on Rep Brett Guthrie the Republican chairman of the Resource Commerce Committee banned lawmakers from accusing colleagues of lying As the minority party in Congress Democrats are unable to stop the bill on their own but used the procedural tools to slow down the process Democrats put up posters of constituents with the words Medicaid Matters One Rep Marc Veasey of Texas put one on speakerphone to share her story until her testimony was ruled out of order The U S Capitol Police reported people were arrested in the Rayburn House Office Building where the panel was meeting Estimates from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office show that at least million people could lose fitness insurance with the Medicaid cuts and potentially more with the changes to the Affordable Care Act Mostly the soundness care changes involve imposing new work requirements for aid recipients starting Jan But Republican Rep Gary Palmer of Alabama disclosed his side is trying to make the soundness care activity work better by rooting out waste and inefficiencies We re trying to save Medicaid he stated At the Tactics Means committee Democrats offered amendments into the night to provide taxpayers relief from Trump s tariff policies enhance a child tax credit and others that were all being turned back by Republicans As the Agriculture Committee began its work CBO also informed lawmakers the work requirements for SNAP would reduce participation by roughly million people in an average month Republicans are working to resolve dissent within their own ranks which shows the pressure points ahead Smith suggested that a few changes could be made to the bill to win over those high-tax state lawmakers from New York and California who believe the proposed SALT cap is inadequate There s a little bit of wiggle room there to try to deliver additional priorities Smith noted But Rep Nick LaLota R-N Y disclosed after an hourlong meeting with the speaker and staff that they were still far from a deal With the slimmest majority in the House Johnson has just a limited votes to spare and is running into resistance from his party including lawmakers in the Senate which also has thin GOP margins The lawmakers are racing for a July deadline to have the whole package sent to Trump s desk in time to also avoid a dangerous debt default The Treasury Secretary has mentioned federal tax revenues are running short and Congress necessities to raise the spending limit to keep paying the bills The package includes a trillion boost to the nation s now trillion debt limit enough to fund operations past the midterm voting process Associated Press writers Darlene Superville and Leah Askarinam contributed to this statement