WASHINGTON — House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-Md.) said he is still a “no” on a sweeping package of tax and spending cuts even after President Donald Trump personally urged Republicans to back the bill.
Speaking after a party meeting with Trump in the Capitol basement, Harris told reporters he still wants steeper Medicaid cuts.
“We have to eliminate the waste, fraud, abuse of Medicaid and we’re far from that,” Harris said.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as it’s called, would cut Medicaid by more than $700 billion over a decade, but the text omits steeper cuts that Harris and other hard-liners have sought.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wants to push the bill through the House this week, but he’s being squeezed by Freedom Caucus members upset about insufficient Medicaid cuts on one side and, on the other, by moderate Republicans from left-leaning states demanding a bigger tax deduction for wealthy homeowners.
