“Stop the bickering and pass the bill quickly for the sake of the country,” says President Donald Trump at Capitol Hill
[Washington, May 20, 2025]
On Tuesday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump met with House Republicans in a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill, urging them to set aside internal disagreements over his major domestic agenda bill. He spoke in clear terms: “Stop the fighting—pass the bill quickly.”
During the meeting, Trump specifically criticized Republicans from blue states who are adamant about raising the cap on the SALT (State and Local Tax) deduction. While the current cap is $10,000, the bill proposes increasing it to $30,000. However, lawmakers from those states argue that even this is too low.
Trump bluntly stated, “Drop this issue.” According to three lawmakers present, he directed this comment at members of the SALT Caucus.
He also singled out New York Republican Congressman Mike Lawler, saying, “End it, Mike, just end it.” This came in stark contrast to earlier this month when Trump endorsed Lawler’s re-election bid and praised his push to raise the SALT cap.
The bill currently includes extensions of Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, increased funding for immigration enforcement and the military, and reductions in spending in other areas. It would also raise the national debt ceiling.
But the SALT issue isn’t the only obstacle. The bill is also facing opposition from some hardline members of the House Freedom Caucus. They want the new work requirements for Medicaid recipients to take effect earlier than 2029. Additionally, they are pushing to reduce the federal funding match for Medicaid recipients added through the Obamacare expansion.
In this context, Trump issued a warning: “Don’t mess with Medicaid,” according to two lawmakers who attended the meeting.
A senior White House official stated that Trump urged Republicans to stay united and, in his words, “pass a big, beautiful bill.” He added that the fight over SALT could be taken up later, rather than now.
The official also noted that Trump supports reforms in Medicaid only to prevent “waste, fraud, and abuse.” However, he has expressed support for excluding undocumented immigrants from Medicaid coverage.
