US Republicans kick off debate on Trump tax cut package, including within own party

By Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON, May 13 (Reuters) - Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday will kick off their public debate on crucial elements of President Donald Trump's tax cut and budget legislation, facing choices that may strain their narrow majority.

The plan, which would extend tax cuts passed during Trump's first term, could add trillions of dollars to the nation's $36.2 trillion in debt over the next decade.

Lawmakers aim to partly offset the lost revenue by spending cuts, including to the Medicaid health program for low-income Americans that some Republicans warn could undermine support among voters that elected Trump in November.

Republicans hold a narrow 220-213 House majority, and will need near unanimity to pass a measure that Democrats are criticizing as hurting social programs.

The Republican tax plan includes a partial tax cut for an estimated 4 million tipped workers, enhanced tax deductions for senior citizens and some additional tax relief for overtime.

Some tax writers, including Representative Kevin Hern from Oklahoma, argue the new tax cuts are "essential" to fulfill Trump campaign promises to lower- and middle-income Americans who voted in greater numbers for Trump in November. The party will also be looking for their support in the 2026 midterm elections, when control of Congress will be up for grabs.

Fiscal hawks within the party argue that the bill does not include sufficient spending cuts, and some Republican representatives from high-tax coastal states are balking at the $30,000 deduction level for state and local taxes.

The Republicans' proposal raises the tax burden on large university endowments to increase revenues.

Across Capitol Hill, Democrats in the minority are rallying to defend Medicaid, as Republicans in a separate committee hearing on Tuesday are set to argue that hundreds of billions of dollars of cuts to the healthcare program are necessary to pay for the tax legislation, including tweaking eligibility, increased work requirements, and pulling back some federal funding to state-run healthcare programs.

Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce committee, which oversees the Medicaid program, will also face public debate from Democrats who are pushing back on the limits to federal funds going to non-profit organizations, like Planned Parenthood, that facilitate abortion services, and other conservative priorities that could be amended out of the legislation if they inhibit support from some Republicans.

House Speaker Mike Johnson is pushing his party to move fast on this legislation, setting a timeline of only seven legislative days to pass the package out of the House by Memorial Day on May 26.

In addition to this legislation seen as the president's top congressional priority, the country's looming debt ceiling deadline this summer is pushing Republicans to work fast, as the party plans to increase government borrowing by raising the debt limit by $4 trillion.