According to POLITICO, the House Ways and Means Committee has largely settled on the tax policy provisions it will include in the GOP’s sweeping reconciliation package.

The committee is reportedly targeting May 8 to mark up the tax title, as part of the broader Republican effort to enact major elements of President Trump’s domestic agenda, which will also include border, energy and defense provisions. However, final adjustments to the tax language are on hold as Republicans await decisions from other House panels, particularly the Energy and Commerce and Agriculture Committees.

  • Both are embroiled in contentious internal debates over deep spending cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps.
  • Votes on their respective portions of the bill are expected the week of May 5, though the Agriculture Committee’s markup may slip into the following week due to delays in its SNAP overhaul plans.

  • Donald Trump is deeply skeptical of the emerging House Republican plan to make deep cuts to Medicaid to pay for the GOP’s megabill, our Rachael Bade, Adam Cancryn, Myah Ward and Meredith Lee Hill report. And Speaker Mike Johnson is running out of time to convince him.

  • In the House, Republicans are being hammered on multiple other fronts as their megabill dreams come crashing into political reality. Johnson failed Wednesday to resolve his standoff with vulnerable Republicans over raising the cap on state and local tax deductions, even as he expects Ways and Means to take up its draft of the GOP tax plan next week, our Brian Faler reports.

By the numbers: The fiscal year 2025 budget resolution, approved by the House in February, directs the Ways and Means Committee to deliver $4.5 trillion in net tax cuts over the next decade.

  • However, the scope of those cuts may depend on how much savings other committees are able to generate through spending reductions.
  • In the meantime, Ways and Means tax writers are actively weighing a range of potential revenue-raising measures to help offset costs, though they have yet to publicly disclose any specific proposals.

Other major sticking points remain.

  • One unresolved issue is whether to expand the state and local tax (SALT) deduction — a politically sensitive move for Republicans from high-tax blue states.
  • Additionally, GOP leaders are awaiting sign-off from the White House, and from Trump himself, on final decisions related to the Medicaid changes that have sparked private debate among Republicans.