Republicans face a crucial stretch this week as they aim to deliver on Trump's agenda
(NPR) By the end of this month, House Republicans hope to finalize the details of President Trump's "big beautiful bill" that includes sweeping changes to tax, immigration and energy policy. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has already muscled a budget blueprint for the plan through the chamber. But this week poses a much thornier task, as three key House committees are putting pen to paper defining policies that will have far-reaching impacts on Americans' pocketbooks and for many, their healthcare.
Johnson is balancing demands between two competing camps inside his conference. Swing district Republicans are worried dramatic cuts to safety net programs and popular tax incentives could endanger their reelection prospects. More conservative members are arguing voters put a GOP trifecta in place to slash the deficit and restructure government programs.
"I think the final product is going to be favorable to everybody," Johnson predicted last week.
The fiscal equation Republicans are trying to solve is how to reach the $1.5 trillion in spending cuts called for in their blueprint to offset the cost of extending President Trump's 2017 tax cuts. A large chunk of the GOP conference views the real target as $2 trillion in savings.
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/13/nx-s1-5395988/republicans-reconciliation-medicaid-trump-tax-cuts