Trump tells Republicans to unite behind sweeping tax bill

By David Morgan and Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump urged Republican lawmakers to unite behind his sweeping tax bill on Friday, as party hardliners calling for deeper spending cuts threatened to block the bill from clearing an important procedural hurdle.

"Republicans MUST UNITE behind" the legislation, Trump said on social media as he returned from a trip to the Middle East. "We don't need 'GRANDSTANDERS' in the Republican Party. STOP TALKING, AND GET IT DONE!"

The post came as the 37-member House Budget Committee convened for a crucial vote that could determine whether Republicans can try to pass the bill next week in the House of Representatives, which would keep the president's agenda on course for possible enactment by a July 4 deadline.

The measure would add trillions of dollars to the federal government's $36.2 trillion in debt.

Four hardliners among the panel's 21 Republicans had threatened to withhold support unless House Speaker Mike Johnson agrees to further cuts to the Medicaid healthcare program for lower-income Americans and the full repeal of green energy tax cuts implemented by Democrats.

Republicans hold majorities in both the House and Senate and so far have not rejected any of Trump's legislative requests.

House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington began the meeting by stressing the legislation's importance to voters who elected Trump to the White House and gave the party full control of Congress last November.

"They want common sense policies. And they want from all of us a commitment to putting America and Americans first. Let's give the people what they voted for," the Texas Republican said.

The panel must approve the bill before it can qualify for a floor vote. Four 'no' votes would be enough to stop the bill's advance, given uniform opposition from the panel's 16 Democrats.

The legislation would extend tax cuts passed during Trump's first term. Congress' bipartisan Joint Tax Committee estimates the tax cuts would cost $3.72 trillion over a decade. Trump has highlighted measures including lifting taxes on tips and overtime that Republicans say would boost working-class Americans, while critics say the bill will offer more benefits to the wealthy.

In condemning the legislation, Democrats cited a projection from nonpartisan congressional researchers warning that proposed cuts to Medicaid and federally subsidized private health insurance available through the Affordable Care Act could lead nearly 14 million Americans to lose health coverage.

"No other previous bill, no other previous law, no other previous event caused so many millions of Americans to lose their healthcare. Not even the Great Depression," said Representative Brendan Boyle, the committee's top Democrat.

The Republicans are split between three factions: moderates from Democratic-led states who want to raise a federal deduction for state and local taxes; hardliners demanding that a bigger SALT deduction be offset by deeper cuts to Medicaid and the full repeal of green energy tax credits; and other moderates determined to minimize Medicaid cuts.

The proposed legislation would impose work requirements on Medicaid beginning in 2029. Hardliners want those to begin immediately and have called for a sharp reduction in federal contributions to Medicaid benefits available to working-class people through the Affordable Care Act - an option vehemently opposed by Republican moderates.

(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone, Chizu Nomiyama and Alistair Bell)