President Trump’s direct appeal to House Republicans on Tuesday failed to persuade key holdouts to back his sweeping legislative package known as the “big, beautiful bill,” as divisions remained between conservative hardliners and moderates from high-tax states.
During a nearly two-hour closed-door meeting in the Capitol’s basement, Trump pushed lawmakers to get behind the comprehensive bill, which bundles together his tax priorities, social safety net reforms, and border funding, ahead of Speaker Mike Johnson’s Memorial Day deadline.
Despite the effort, several lawmakers left the meeting unconvinced.
According to Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, the president didn’t sway enough members to clear the path for passage. Harris, whose group has been among the most vocal critics, said he still couldn’t support the bill in its current form and that significant changes were still needed.
The president addressed concerns from both factions during the session, attempting to strike a balance. When conservatives pressed for deeper Medicaid cuts, Trump reportedly told them not to “mess with” the program, signaling limits on how far he was willing to go to appease them.
At the same time, Trump asked moderates from states like New York and New Jersey to back off their demands to raise the cap on state and local tax deductions (SALT), a key issue for their constituents. But that message didn’t appear to move the needle either, as lawmakers from both camps continued to express reservations.
With time running short and pressure mounting, Republican leaders now face an uphill climb to unify the conference around the bill, which remains stuck in limbo as negotiations continue.
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