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GOP holdouts unmoved by Trump’s ‘big, beautiful’ trip to Capitol Hill
President Donald Trump’s rallying speech to House Republicans Tuesday morning wasn’t enough to convince some holdouts to unite behind his «big, beautiful bill» ahead of a planned vote this week.
Trump urged Republicans to cease infighting on Medicaid reform and state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps at the House GOP’s weekly conference meeting. Several Republicans who emerged said they were still concerned enough to oppose the bill, however.
House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and representatives Nick LaLota, Mike Lawler and Andrew Garbino of New York told Fox News Digital Tuesday they would vote against the bill if changes were not made.
On the other hand, Trump did persuade some people. Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina, one of several Republicans to sink a committee vote on the bill Friday, told reporters he would review it and make a «judgment call» ahead of a 1 a.m. meeting to advance the bill through the House Rules Committee.
INSIDE TRUMP’S URGENT MEETING WITH HOUSE GOP TO PASS THE ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’
Rep. Mike Lawler (left) and Rep. Thomas Massie (right) said President Donald Trump did not convince them Tuesday to vote for his «big, beautiful bill» in its current form. (Getty Images)
Norman said Trump did a «fantastic job» and delivered «one of the best speeches I’ve heard» at the House GOP meeting, and he urged his blue state colleagues to «take the words the president said to heart about SALT.»
CONSERVATIVE RIPS BLUE STATE REPUBLICAN’S PROPOSAL TO RAISE TAXES ON WEALTHY IN SALT DEBATE
Norman and Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, are both members of the powerful rules panel who have not been shy about their concerns with the current bill. The committee acts as the final gatekeeper before most legislation sees a full House vote.
Roy did not appear to attend Trump’s speech but told reporters Monday evening the 1 a.m. Wednesday vote should be postponed.
But the New York Republicans weren’t budging after Trump’s «big, beautiful» speech, maintaining the bill doesn’t go far enough to deliver for middle-class New Yorkers on the SALT deduction cap.
«This is the single biggest issue that I’ve talked about, and, with all due respect to the president, I’m not budging,» Lawler said.
«Between property taxes and income taxes, it blows well past the $30,000 cap with the $400,000 income cap. So, as I’ve said repeatedly, that is insufficient. We will continue the dialogue with leadership, but as it stands right now, I do not support the bill,» Lawler said.
Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill. (Reuters/Anna Rose Layden)
Lawler said SALT is one of the biggest issues affecting his district in New York and campaigned on never supporting a tax bill that doesn’t «adequately lift the cap.»
«The president can say whatever he wants, and I respect him, but the fact is, I certainly understand my district. I’m one of only three Republican members that won in a district Kamala Harris won, and I did so for reasons,» Lawler said.
«We need a little more SALT on the table to get to this,» fellow New York Republican LaLota added. «I hope the president’s presence motivates my leadership to give us a number that we can go sell back home.»
LaLota said while he is still a «no,» he hopes «the president’s presence here today motivates some folks in the Ways and Means Committee and my leadership to give us a number to which we can actually say ‘yes.’»
Rep. Nick Lalota, R-N.Y., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
When asked if Trump did enough to ease concerns in Tuesday’s meeting, Garbarino, another New York Republican, said, «No. There were no specifics. … It was more of a rally. We need to get this done.»
«We share President Trump’s call for unity within the House Republican Conference,» Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., said in a joint statement after Trump’s visit to Capitol Hill.
«We hope his remarks today motivate the Speaker to advance a SALT proposal that delivers meaningful relief for our middle-class constituents, as we have worked in good faith with House Leadership for more than a year,» the statement from Kim, Garbarino, Lawler, LaLota and Rep. Tom Kean, R-N.J., said.
Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., speaks during a hearing March 10, 2021, on Capitol Hill. (Ting Shen-Pool/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Trump urged Republicans not to «f— with» Medicaid in his speech, though different factions came to different conclusions about what he meant.
Rep. Andy Ogles of Tennessee, who was not in the room for Trump’s speech, called for more cuts to the entitlement program in an X post Tuesday afternoon but told Fox News Digital he was opposed to the legislation as written.
«I agree with President Trump — we must crush the waste, fraud, and abuse. Liberal states like California and New York are abusing Medicaid — and making you pay for it. Illegal aliens and freeloaders have no right to taxpayer-funded benefits,» Ogles said on X.
Other fiscal conservatives, like Ogles, who were in the room, said the bill does not go far enough to reform Medicaid and would also vote «no» in the bill’s current form.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., outside the Capitol building Dec. 18, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
«I think it’s inappropriate for us to say we’re not going to touch it and then leave all of this fraud that’s happening in the system,» Burlison said.
Harris, the House Freedom Caucus chair, said, «I can’t support the bill. It does not eliminate waste, fraud and abuse in Medicaid. The president called for waste, fraud and abuse to be eliminated. I don’t think that’s where the bill sits.»
Massie, known for being a libertarian, was unconvinced by Trump’s appearance, telling reporters that his constituents didn’t «vote for increased deficits and Biden-level spending.»
He acknowledged that younger members or those who harbor ambitions for higher office would likely fall in line, however.
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«I think he probably closed the deal in there,» Massie said.
SALT deduction caps and Medicaid remain two of the biggest sticking points in Republican negotiations. SALT deduction caps primarily benefit people living in high-cost-of-living areas like New York City, Los Angeles and their surrounding suburbs. Republicans representing those areas have argued that raising the SALT deduction cap is a critical issue and that a failure to address it could cost the GOP the House majority in the 2026 midterms.
Republicans in redder, lower-tax areas have said in response that SALT deductions favor wealthy people living in Democrat-controlled states and that such deductions reward progressive high-tax policies.
It was Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 that first instituted caps on SALT deductions, setting the maximum at $10,000 for both married couples and single filers.
SALT Caucus members have rejected House Republican leaders’ offer to increase that to $30,000.
Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, meanwhile, are pushing for the bill to be more aggressive in cutting waste, fraud and abuse in the Medicaid system, including a faster timeline for implementing work requirements for able-bodied recipients. Currently, the legislation has work requirements kicking in 2029.
They also want to restructure Medicaid cost-sharing to put a bigger burden on the states. Moderates, meanwhile, have been wary of making significant cuts to the program.
House GOP leaders are hoping to hold a full House vote on the bill this week.
Politics,House Of Representatives,Republicans,Donald Trump
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that U.S. sanctions on Cuba are tied to political change on the island, as the country faces widespread blackouts, unrest and a worsening economic crisis.
«Suffice it to say that the embargo is tied to political change on the island,» Rubio told reporters at the White House. «The law, it’s been codified. And, but the bottom line is their economy doesn’t work. It’s a nonfunctional economy. It’s an economy that has survived.… That thing they have, has survived on subsidies from the Soviet Union and now from Venezuela. They don’t get subsidies anymore. So they’re in a lot of trouble. And the people in charge of them don’t know how to fix it. So they have to get new people in charge.»
Rubio’s comments come as Cuba faces a deepening energy crisis that has fueled protests and instability.
A nationwide power grid collapse left roughly 10 million people without electricity, according to U.S. Embassy statements and Cuban authorities.
PROTESTERS TORCH COMMUNIST PARTY HQ IN CUBA AS VIDEO APPEARS TO CAPTURE GUNFIRE
People walk on the street during a blackout in Havana, March 16, 2026. (Ramon Espinosa/AP)
President Donald Trump indicated his administration is actively engaged.
«Cuba right now is in very bad shape. They’re talking to Marco,» Trump told the reporters, «We’ll be doing something with Cuba very soon.… We’re dealing with Cuba.»
Trump escalated his rhetoric against Cuba Monday, saying he expected to have the «honor» of «taking Cuba in some form» and that «I can do anything I want» with the neighboring country.
A senior State Department official rejected claims that U.S. sanctions are responsible for the humanitarian situation, saying, «Widespread blackouts have sadly become common for many years in Cuba — a symptom of the failing regime’s incompetence and inability to provide even the most basic goods and service for its people.»
«This is the tragic result of over 60 years of Communist rule,» the official added. «An island that was once the crown jewel of the Caribbean has plunged into extreme poverty and darkness.
«As President Trump has said, what is left of the regime should make a deal and finally let the Cuban people be free and prosperous, with the help of the United States,» the official told Fox News Digital.
TRUMP DECLARES NATIONAL EMERGENCY OVER CUBA, THREATENS TARIFFS ON NATIONS THAT SUPPLY OIL TO COMMUNIST REGIME
Protesters gather outside a Communist Party headquarters in Morón, Cuba, as a fire burns in the street during overnight unrest. Video obtained by Fox News Digital appeared to show demonstrators attempting to set fire to the building amid protests linked to widespread blackouts. (Reuters)
Cuban human rights activist Rosa María Payá argued that the current crisis reflects systemic collapse inside the regime, not external pressure.
«The blackout is the regime’s collapse made visible: 65 years of totalitarianism finally consuming itself,» Payá told Fox News Digital. «The protests are Cubans refusing to disappear into that darkness.»
She rejected claims that U.S. sanctions are driving the humanitarian situation.
«Cubans are not suffering because of American policy,» she said. «They are suffering because of a dictatorship. Pressure on the regime works. What hurts the Cuban people is legitimizing it.»
«The only way to end the humanitarian catastrophe is to end the regime,» Payá added. «That’s the demand of the Cuban people.»
Recent blackouts and shortages have been linked to failures at key infrastructure, including the Antonio Guiteras thermoelectric power plant, as well as fuel shortages following U.S. actions to curtail oil shipments from Venezuela, one of Cuba’s primary energy suppliers.
At the same time, Pentagon officials told lawmakers there are no plans to invade Cuba, even as they described it as a long-standing security concern.
Joseph Humire, performing the duties of assistant secretary of defense for homeland defense and Americas security affairs, said he was «not familiar with any plans on Cuba» when asked during a House Armed Services Committee hearing Tuesday.
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Riot police walk the streets after a demonstration against the government of President Miguel Diaz-Canel in Arroyo Naranjo Municipality, Havana, on July 12, 2021. (Yamil Lage/AFP)
He described Cuba as «one of the strongest intelligence adversaries that we’ve had in the United States,» adding that Cuban officials have operated across the region and were «defending Nicolás Maduro… in Caracas» during past operations.
Cuba’s government has blamed U.S. sanctions for worsening the crisis, while U.S. officials argue it stems from decades of economic mismanagement and reliance on foreign subsidies.
cuba,marco rubio,secretary of state,state department,donald trump
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‘Deeply disturbing’ animal cruelty operation involving baby monkeys busted by ICE investigation
Trump Cabinet teams up to end animal abuse
Attorney General Pam Bondi, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. discuss why animal cruelty is so important to end on ‘My View with Lara Trump.’
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A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigation in Florida busted a «deeply disturbing» illegal animal cruelty operation involving baby monkeys by U.S. citizen Francisco Javier Ravelo.
According to the Justice Department, Ravelo, 36, pleaded guilty in federal court to distributing videos depicting the torture of both adult and baby monkeys that involved mutilation and burning. The DOJ said Ravelo personally distributed more than 40 torture videos and that his actions violated the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture (PACT) Act, which was signed into law by President Donald Trump during his first term.
Ravelo now faces up to seven years in prison.
The DOJ said the animal cruelty scheme was exposed by an investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which is the primary criminal investigations arm of the Department of Homeland Security.
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An investigation by ICE Homeland Security Investigations led to U.S. citizen Francisco Javier Ravelo pleading guilty to distributing videos depicting the torture of both adult and baby monkeys that involved mutilation and burning. (Arnulfo Franco/AP Photo; ICE)
Jason Reding Quiñones, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, called the case «deeply disturbing» and evidenced a willingness on the part of Ravelo to «inflict suffering without remorse.»
«As a former state court trial judge who presided over domestic violence cases, I was trained to recognize lethality factors, warning signs that violence is escalating. Deliberate cruelty to animals is one of the clearest red flags,» he said. «It reflects a willingness to dominate, torture, and inflict suffering without remorse.»
Quiñones condemned Ravelo’s actions in no uncertain terms, calling it a «serious federal crime» that he said «fuels a market built on brutality.»
Adam Gustafson, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division, commented that «if you are involved in this sadistic activity, we will prosecute you.»
Meanwhile, Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said that while Ravelo «didn’t count on HSI being able to track him down, pull together evidence and present it to the judge … now he knows better.»
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT FROM VENEZUELA LEARNS SENTENCE FOR BITING ICE AGENT, WITH INJURY SEEN IN PHOTO
Screenshots taken by ICE of a video distributed by Ravelo depicting the torture of a monkey. (ICE)
«Homeland Security Investigations pieced together the case that led to Ravelo’s guilty plea,» said Lyons, adding, «I hope this serves as a warning to others who acquire or distribute this kind of content: HSI will find you, and you’ll end up in federal court just like Ravelo did.»
Upon signing the PACT Act in 2019, Trump said, «It is important that we combat these heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty, which are totally unacceptable in a civilized society.»
Trump said that the passage of the PACT Act was «something that should have happened a long time ago.»
This year, Trump also launched a new multi-agency initiative to strengthen enforcement of the Animal Welfare Act, specifically targeting chronic puppy mill violators and dogfighting rings. The move was commended by Humane World for Animals.
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President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026, in Washington. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
In a statement announcing the initiative, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said that Trump administration agencies are «taking historic actions» to hold chronic pet welfare violators accountable.
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The agency said the initiative «will boost compliance with existing laws, protect our companion animals,» and reiterates that the Trump administration «stands with the majority of Americans» who are pet owners.
homeland security,pets,donald trump,justice department,police and law enforcement,florida
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