Fiscal hardliners in the U.S. Senate appear to be easing their stance on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax cut bill, signaling a smoother path to passage if current trends hold through the end of the month.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is leading efforts to advance the president’s flagship domestic proposal through the upper chamber, where it is undergoing substantial revisions. These changes are expected to complicate a second vote in the House ahead of a self-imposed July 4 deadline. Meanwhile, some fiscally conservative Republicans have threatened to block the bill unless additional spending cuts are included to offset the trillions in projected deficit increases.
Yet those objections now seem to be fading. A notable example is Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), a Tea Party-aligned conservative who has recently softened his opposition after previously voicing strong concerns about the bill. “We all want to see President Trump succeed,” he said in an interview this week. “Everybody is trying to help. That’s why, if I seem to have been striking a more hopeful tone, it’s because I am more hopeful.”
Just weeks ago, Johnson was publicly voicing his concerns, warning on air about the long-term fiscal impact of the president’s tax cuts and their potential cost to the nation’s financial stability. “I have nothing but support for what President Trump is trying to do,” Johnson told CNN’s Jake Tapper in late May. “But from my point, this is a budget reconciliation process, so we ought to talk about numbers.”
Johnson made the same pitch to Trump during several one-on-one phone calls, according to sources close to both men. But after the latest talks, one person described the White House as “optimistic that there’s a path to getting Johnson to yes.”
Trump, for his part, has taken a measured approach in trying to shift Johnson’s messaging toward the positive aspects of the bill—particularly its centerpiece: the largest tax cuts in American history. “When the president says, ‘Ron, you’ve been so negative, that’s just not even helpful,’ I want to be helpful,” Johnson told Politico, admitting he has “downplayed what is good in the bill.”
One person who described the president’s approach to Johnson summarized: “Don’t be negative to create leverage for yourself. If you want to negotiate, like, we can negotiate in private. We’re all reasonable people.” Similar conversations are underway with other fiscal conservatives, including Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who was recently re-invited to a White House picnic after his initial invitation was briefly rescinded—a move he described as an “immature” stunt by the administration.
While winning over Paul remains unlikely, administration officials believe other holdouts are still persuadable, pointing to ongoing discussions with Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) as a sign of potential progress. “I believe we’ll get a deal done. I’m doing everything I can to represent my state,” Scott told the outlet this week.
Another is Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), who is taking part in private talks to shoehorn a deregulatory proposal, known as the REINS Act, into the legislation. Senate negotiators are currently drafting a version that they hope will pass muster with the reconciliation process.
