House SALT deal will have to change, Senate leader says

Senate Majority Leader John Thune believes the deal that led the House to increase the maximum deduction for state and local taxes to $40,000 will have to be changed in his chamber, according to his office.  

The Senate has begun deliberations over President Donald Trump’s massive “Big Beautiful Bill” that narrowly passed the House on May 22, with several Republican senators expressing concerns over its cost as well as cuts to Medicaid and clean energy tax credits.

Ryan Wrasse, a Thune spokesman, did not provide details about how, exactly, the deal might be revised.   

Republican lawmakers from states like New York and California demanded that the SALT cap be raised well above the $10,000 limit established in Trump’s 2017 tax overhaul. House Speaker Mike Johnson eventually agreed to the new $40,000 cap.  

“It would be very, very hard to get the Senate to vote for what the House did,” Thune told Politico. “We’ve just got some people that feel really strongly on this.”

The tax measure would also extend tax cuts from Trump’s first term that are to expire on Dec. 31, along with new tax relief, including temporarily exempting tips and overtime pay from taxes.

Representative Nick LaLota, a New York Republican, indicated that a reduction in the SALT benefit could jeopardize passage of the bill in the House.

“No SALT. No Deal. For Real,” he posted on X Tuesday night.