House GOP to Senate: "Touch very lightly" on Trump budget bill

Axios

a day ago

House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain has a stern warning for her Senate colleagues on the House-passed Trump budget bill: "Touch very lightly" and don't force a conference process.
Why it matters: Senate Republicans are determined to put their mark on the "one big, beautiful bill." But the changes they're signaling would cross red lines for House GOP holdouts.
"Change it 10%, but I think 30% is a lot," McClain (R-Mich.) told Axios in a wide-ranging interview on Wednesday.
McClain was responding to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who on Wednesday talked about preserving just 60% or 70% of the House-passed legislative text.
"I realize the Senate has to put their fingerprints on it," McClain told Axios. "Touch very lightly."
Driving the news: Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) laid out the changes he plans to make to his portion of the bill to fellow senators on Wednesday.
Atop his list: Bring the SALT cap down, and make the business tax cuts permanent. They're also looking at changes to renewable energy tax credits and the number on border security.
If the Senate makes substantial changes, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will be forced to go to conference and hammer out the differences in July, with the threat of a debt default hanging over negotiations.
"I really don't think there's a huge appetite to go to conference because of the timing," McClain said.
Zoom out:"I happen to believe them when they say that," McClain told Axios about blue state Republicans threatening to crash the entire bill if the $40,000 SALT deduction cap is lowered.
The big picture: House lawmakers want to move on a $9.4 billion rescissions package on Thursday.
"If we can't pass this rescission package, we are really in trouble," she said.
"I think we're going to pass it," she said, saying she expected more rescissions requests throughout the year.
Go deeper: As conference chair, McClain is working to elevate her members and often does joint media appearances with them.