Fiscal hawks draw red lines on Trump's first big bill, risking GOP support

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

82% : "It all underscores the enormous challenge Trump faces in piecing together a coalition behind what he calls "one beautiful bill" -- as party leaders navigate internal divisions over a complex suite of policies that House Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed to bring to the floor by April even though he'll need near unanimous support within his conference to win passage.
61% : "Most members heading down to Mar-a-Lago say they will be in listening mode, hoping that Trump will present them with ideas they can get behind.
59% : "Look, I've been very clear," said Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago this weekend.
58% : But that group of Republicans, representing swing districts in New York, New Jersey and California, will also meet with Trump this weekend as some of those members say restoring the SALT tax break is their own red line.
56% : "It's having those lines of communication, which I think are really important," GOP Rep. Byron Donalds, who met with Trump on Friday night, told CNN.
53% : Asked if he would buckle to pressure from Trump to raise the debt limit, Roy told CNN: "I fully support clearing the decks on the debt ceiling ...
51% : Instead, Republicans are discussing ways to trim spending from programs like Medicaid or nutritional programs by instituting work requirements.
51% : He pointed to a phone call from Trump last week during the speaker election, when Trump helped convince him to give Johnson a full term as speaker.
49% : They say the measure -- which is expected to include a raise in the nation's debt limit in addition to billions of dollars in spending on border security, energy projects and tax extensions -- must be fully paid for, and not with accounting gimmicks that even Republicans have used in the past.
48% : But I'm not going to back off my belief that we need to drive deficits down.
48% : That is something we have to talk about," Cline said, when asked about the tax deductions.
47% : "Rep. Ralph Norman, another Freedom Caucus member, believes Trump will ultimately help keep the GOP in line behind his bill.
46% : Social Security and Medicare have to be preserved and we are not, no one is coming in with the intention of cutting benefits in any way or anything," Johnson told reporters.
44% : There are easy GOP targets, like recouping the costs of Biden's attempt to forgive student loan debt or his new federal support for electric vehicles, which Republicans believe could save at least $100 billion.
33% : And that might not change just because Donald Trump is the one to ask for his vote.
33% : "The budgetary math, though, is difficult as Johnson and others have ruled out any cuts to costly programs like Medicare and Social Security.
21% : If the government funding fight from December, where 38 Republicans voted against the bill that included the debt hike Trump wanted, is any indication, Trump merely calling on lawmakers to support it again might not be enough.

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