Washington, D.C. — House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is facing one of his biggest political tests yet as he scrambles to unify the deeply fractured Republican caucus ahead of a decisive vote on what former President Donald Trump has hailed as his “big, beautiful bill” — a sweeping legislative package encompassing tax, immigration, energy, defense, and debt ceiling reforms.

With Republicans holding only a razor-thin majority in the House, negotiations over the massive, multi-pronged bill have laid bare simmering tensions and deep divisions — both longstanding and newly emerged — within the GOP ranks.

Fiscal Hawks Draw the First Blood

The conservative House Freedom Caucus and its allies are pushing for harsher reforms to Medicaid, particularly aiming to roll back the Affordable Care Act’s expansion and implement stricter work requirements for able-bodied beneficiaries before the current 2029 deadline.

While there is broad agreement among Republicans that able-bodied adults should work in exchange for healthcare coverage, more drastic cuts to the Obamacare-era expansion population — which includes many low-income women and children — are causing unease among moderates.

At the same time, these conservatives are demanding a full repeal of President Joe Biden’s green energy tax credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), positioning themselves at odds with fellow Republicans from districts where businesses have already begun benefiting from those subsidies.

Blue State Moderates Fight Back Over SALT

Moderate Republicans from high-cost, blue-leaning states like California, New York, and New Jersey are drawing a red line on raising the state and local tax (SALT) deduction cap.

tăng mức khấu trừ thuế tiểu bang và địa phương (SALT).

The SALT cap — introduced under Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — currently limits deductions to $10,000, a move that hit taxpayers in high-income areas particularly hard. These GOP lawmakers argue that failing to address the SALT issue could cost the party control of the House in 2024 — or worse, in 2026.

Their colleagues from low-tax, red states like Tennessee and Missouri, however, argue that raising the cap would amount to rewarding blue states for their irresponsible tax policies — essentially forcing conservative states to subsidize wealthier, Democratic-led regions.

Meanwhile, blue state Republicans contend that their districts send more tax dollars to Washington than they receive, and that restoring the SALT deduction is a matter of tax fairness.

The Green Energy Civil War

Another fault line running through the GOP centers on the future of green energy tax incentives under the IRA.

Some overlap exists between Republicans pushing for higher SALT caps and those defending green energy tax credits. Lawmakers from swing districts in Arizona and Pennsylvania have warned that dismantling these credits now would hurt businesses that have already begun adjusting their operations based on the incentives.

In March, 21 House Republicans sent a letter urging their colleagues to preserve the credits:

“Countless American companies are utilizing sector-wide energy tax credits — many of which have enjoyed broad support in Congress — to make major investments in domestic energy production and infrastructure for both traditional and renewable sources.”

However, the fiscal hawks aren’t budging. In their own letter, they slammed the IRA credits as artificial market interference:

“Leaving IRA subsidies intact will actively undermine America’s return to energy dominance and national security. These are government handouts that distort the energy market, displace reliable coal and natural gas, and jeopardize our electric grid.”

A Vote That Could Reshape the GOP — and Trump’s 2024 Ambitions

As conflicting priorities threaten to unravel the bill, Speaker Mike Johnson is caught in a high-stakes balancing act. Without a clear path to unity, Trump’s signature legislative proposal could fall victim to Republican infighting — a potential disaster for the former president’s comeback campaign.

The looming question now: Can Republicans come together in time to pass Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” — or will internal warfare once again derail the party’s legislative agenda and cast a shadow over 2024?