Republican Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania on Wednesday night urged House Speaker Mike Johnson to allow time for the House to examine revisions to the fiscal plan dubbed a “big, beautiful bill” by President Donald Trump.
Perry emphasized discretion over speed in deciding on the crucial federal government financial package, saying it is more important to “get it correct than to get it fast.”
Newsweek reached out to Johnson’s office via email Wednesday night for comment.
Why It Matters
The bill touted by Trump is a key avenue for Republicans to push forward his agenda after his decisive election victory in November.
Conservative Republicans are historically in favor of deep budget cuts and also prioritizing Trump’s agenda. Central-leaning Republicans are more inclined to keep certain programs in place that could benefit the voters in their districts.
Some GOP lawmakers, however, have floated opposition to the bill surrounding the SALT cap, arguing that there needs to be “good faith” negotiations and not a strong-arming of a number.
A SALT cap limits state and local taxes that can be deducted from federal tax returns, according to Forbes, and has been most controversial in high-tax states like New York, New Jersey, California and Connecticut.
What To Know
While speaking with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday after the manager’s amendment was released to include tweaks to the bill, Perry said that there should be allotted time for lawmakers to review it.
“I don’t know if it’s going to come tonight,” he said. “Like I said, we just got the language and people like me … will be upset with our leadership if we don’t get a chance to really go through it and read the whole thing. And so, I think that’s important for all members.”
Perry added, “I’ve often said, and I will say again, and I’ll say it right here, and I would say it to the speaker as well, it’s more important to get it correct than to get it fast. We need to get it right as opposed to fast. So, if we have to wait a few hours or a few days to get it right, that’s really important because this is going to be enduring, we have to get it through the Senate and we want to make sure we get the best product that we can.”
Johnson has been vocal about wanting to have a final vote on the bill Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
What People Are Saying
In a rushed script to Newsweek, House Democratic Whip Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, via MSNBC’s The Weeknight, in part: “You know, this is part of the problem when you have a bill that is created in a solely partisan manner and is being adopted and changed, we don’t even know as we are talking right now exactly what we could be voting on tonight, because they still don’t have their bill in front of the Rules Committee.
“So, we’ve been meeting since 1 a.m., but we’re still operating, waiting for our Republican colleagues to settle their own inner fight and come to us with what their plans are for the American people. But what we do know is the president was at the Capitol yesterday, 24 hours ago, and said, we will not touch Medicare. Half a trillion dollars later, we are also about to devastate Medicare.”
Continuing, the Massachusetts lawmaker said: “So, there is nothing that is off limits, nothing off limits in order to have these tax cuts. And it is when you add into it, the Moody’s rating, because it is families at home that are going to have to bear these interest rates. And it’s—and then the tariffs that are put on top of that. Back-to-school shopping—shopping for young children where the cost of cribs and shoes and clothes and car seats.”
Trump posted to Truth Social last week: “Republicans MUST UNITE behind, ‘THE ONE, BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL!’ Not only does it cut Taxes for ALL Americans, but it will kick millions of Illegal Aliens off of Medicaid to PROTECT it for those who are the ones in real need. The Country will suffer greatly without this Legislation, with their Taxes going up 65%. It will be blamed on the Democrats, but that doesn’t help our Voters. We don’t need “GRANDSTANDERS” in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE! It is time to fix the MESS that Biden and the Democrats gave us. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
What Happens Next
At the time of publication, it was unknown if the final House vote would take place Wednesday night, Thursday or over the weekend.
Update: 05/21/25, 10:36 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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