President Donald Trump arrived on Capitol Hill on Tuesday with a warning to House Republicans: vote against his massive tax and spending bill, and you might get primaried.
It was a characteristic bit of strong-arming from Trump as negotiations over his sprawling legislative package are on thin ice. The legislation, which Trump has dubbed a “big, beautiful bill,” seeks to extend his 2017 tax cuts and reshape federal spending priorities. Critics say it would deepen the deficit and tear holes in the safety net, though the White House insists it would save the government $1.6 trillion.
“Possibly,” Trump said when asked if lawmakers who oppose the bill should face primary challengers. “They wouldn’t be a Republican much longer. They would be knocked out so fast.”
Read more: Behind the New Biden Book That Was Roiling Washington Even Before His Cancer Disclosure
Trump spoke with House Republicans for more than an hour in what appeared to be part pep rally, part pressure campaign. He cheered on House Speaker Mike Johnson and declared the Republican Party “tremendously unified.” But he also showed little tolerance for intraparty resistance. Among those in his crosshairs was Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a libertarian-leaning Republican who has been outspoken in his criticism of the bill’s spending levels.
“He doesn’t understand government,” Trump told reporters outside the room. “He should be voted out of office.”
Massie confirmed after the meeting that he remains opposed to the bill despite Trump calling him out personally. “You got to take some of the attacks with a grain of salt,” he said.
The tension comes as Republican leaders race to build consensus around the legislation ahead of a planned floor vote as early as Wednesday. The 1,116-page bill is a signature piece of Trump’s second-term agenda, laden with campaign trail promises including no taxes on tips, steep cuts to green energy subsidies introduced under former President Joe Biden, and revoking Medicaid benefits from undocumented immigrants.
But the package faces mounting resistance from both ends of the Republican Party. Fiscal hawks like Massie argue the bill’s front-loaded tax breaks and defense spending would balloon deficits without meaningful near-term cuts, warning it codifies “Biden levels of spending.” At the same time, blue-state Republicans—particularly from New York and New Jersey—are balking at what they see as insufficient relief from the cap on state and local tax (SALT) deductions.
Several New York Republicans are pushing to expand the SALT deduction beyond the bill’s current $30,000 cap for joint filers with incomes up to $400,000 a year. Their counterproposal would lift the deduction to as high as $62,000 for individuals and $124,000 for married couples, a move Trump—who has expressed little patience for the demands from the bill’s critics—said would mainly benefit Democratic “governors from New York, Illinois and California.”
“Well SALT is a very interesting thing. The big JB is going nowhere, probably right now, he could be the worst governor in the country, but Illinois and Gavin ‘Newscum,’ those are the people that want this, and they’re Democrat states,” Trump said at the Capitol, referring to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Republican members of the SALT Caucus told reporters after the meeting that Trump requested they fall in line and accept the deal given by leadership. At one point, Trump singled out New York Rep. Mike Lawler and told him the SALT issue will not help him win elections, according to Punchbowl News. “I know your district better than you do,” Trump reportedly said.
Lawler told reporters that his stance was unchanged by Trump’s comments: “This is the single biggest issue that I’ve talked about, and while I respect the President, I’m not budging,” he said.
New York Rep. Andrew Garbarino, the SALT Caucus chair, also said that Trump did not ease his concerns: “If they put the bill on the floor as is, I think there’s a lot of no votes.”
Further complicating passage of Trump’s bill is its proposed Medicaid overhaul, which includes new work requirements in early 2027 projected to strip coverage from millions. Trump denied the bill would touch “anything meaningful” in social programs, framing the changes as mere efforts to root out “waste, fraud and abuse.” But policy experts and the Congressional Budget Office have warned that the proposed requirements could leave 7.6 million Americans without insurance. That prospect has left a number of moderate and vulnerable Republicans hesitant to cut a program that covers their constituents and risk facing political backlash in next year’s elections.
“They won’t lose health insurance” Trump said when asked if working class Americans will lose Medicaid benefits under his bill.
House Democrats have seized on the intraparty fighting, accusing Republicans of trying to ram through sweeping cuts under the cover of night. A key committee hearing was scheduled for 1 a.m. Wednesday, prompting Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to accuse Republicans of trying to hide the bill’s impact. “If this legislation is designed to make life better for the American people, can someone explain to me why they would hold a hearing to advance the bill at 1 a.m. in the morning?” Jeffries asked.