Washington, May 21 (AP) Defying opposition from within his ranks, House Speaker Mike Johnson insisted late Wednesday that Republicans would march ahead on their multitrillion-dollar tax breaks package after a lengthy meeting at the White House with GOP holdouts who are refusing to back the bill.

Johnson and his GOP leadership team appeared confident they would be able to stick to their schedule and shore up GOP support for final passage late Wednesday or Thursday following last-ditch talks to salvage the "big, beautiful bill." But next steps are highly uncertain.

“We're excited that we're going to land this plane,” Johnson, R-La., said back at the Capitol.

But as evening hours set in, the upbeat tone stood at odds with the unwieldy scene at the Capitol. The Rules Committee has been grinding through a marathon session, passing its 18th hour, as the process chugs along. Another Republican, Tennessee Rep. John Rose, announced his opposition to the GOP bill. And Democrats, without the votes to stop Trump's package, are using all available tools and impassioned speeches to press their opposition and capitalize on the GOP disarray.

“We believe it's one big, ugly bill that's going to hurt the American people,” said House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York as he and his team testified before the committee.

“Hurt children, hurt families, hurt veterans, hurt seniors, cut health care, cut nutritional assistance, explode the debt,” he said.

It's a make-or-break moment for the president and his party in Congress. They have invested much of their political capital during the crucial first few months of Trump's return to the White House on this legislation. If the House Republicans fall in line with the president, overcoming unified Democratic objections, the measure would next go to the Senate.

Trump had implored the lawmakers a day earlier at the Capitol to get it done, but the holdouts endured. It's not at all clear what, exactly, was agreed to — or not — during Wednesday's lengthy meeting at the White House. However, Johnson indicated afterward that Trump himself may be able to accomplish by executive actions some of the goals that Congress is unable to agree to in the legislative process.

One big problem has been the tentative deal with GOP lawmakers from New York and other high-tax states to boost deductions for local taxes to USD 40,000. But that costly provision, running into the hundreds of billions of dollars, alarmed the most conservative Republicans, worried it will add to the nation's USD 36 trillion debt.

For every faction of the slim House majority that Johnson appeases, he is losing others.

Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., the chairman of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus, said before the White House meeting he did not believe the package could pass in a House vote, but “there is a pathway forward that we can see.” A fresh analysis from the Congressional Budget Office said the tax provisions would increase federal deficits by USD 3.8 trillion over the decade, while the changes to Medicaid, food stamps and other services would tally USD 1 trillion in reduced spending. The lowest-income households in the U.S. would see their resources drop, while the highest ones would see a boost, the CBO said.

Republicans convened the House Rules Committee hearing shortly after midnight, but Johnson's Memorial Day deadline for House passage was slipping as lawmakers prepared to depart for the holiday.

At its core, the package is centered on extending the tax breaks approved during Trump's first term in 2017, while adding new ones he campaigned on during his 2024 campaign.

To make up for some of the lost revenue, the Republicans are focused on spending cuts to federal safety net programs and a massive rollback of green energy tax breaks from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act.

Additionally, the package tacks on USD 350 billion in new spending, with about USD 150 billion going to the Pentagon, including for the president's new “ Golden Dome” defense shield, and the rest for Trump's mass deportation and border security agenda.

The package title carries Trump's own words, the “ One Big Beautiful Bill Act." As Trump promised voters, the package proposes there would be no taxes on tips for certain workers, including those in some service industries; automobile loan interest; or some overtime pay.

There would be an increase to the standard income tax deduction, to USD 32,000 for joint filers, and a boost to the child tax credit to $2,500. There would be an enhanced deduction, of USD 4,000, for older adults of certain income levels, to help defray taxes on Social Security income.

To cut spending, the package would impose new work requirements for many people who receive health care through Medicaid. Able-bodied adults without dependents would need to fulfill 80 hours a month on a job or in other community activities.

Similarly, those who receive food stamps through the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, known as SNAP, would also face new work requirements.

Older Americans up to age 64, rather than 54, who are able-bodied and without dependents would need to work or engage in the community programs for 80 hours a month. Additionally, some parents of children older than 7 years old would need to fulfill the work requirements; under current law, the requirement comes after children are 18.

Republicans said they want to root out waste, fraud and abuse in the federal programs.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated 8.6 million fewer people would have health insurance with the various changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act. It also said 3 million fewer people each month would have SNAP benefits.

Conservatives are insisting on quicker, steeper cuts to federal programs to offset the costs of the trillions of dollars in lost tax revenue. GOP leaders have sped up the start date of the Medicaid work requirements from 2029 to 2027.

At the same time, more moderate and centrist lawmakers are wary of the changes to Medicaid that could result in lost health care for their constituents. Others are worried the phaseout of the renewable energy tax breaks will impede businesses using them to invest in green energy projects in many states.

Plus, those lawmakers from New York, California and other high-tax states wanted a bigger state and local tax deduction, called SALT, for their voters back home.

Under the emerging SALT deal, the USD 10,000 deduction cap would quadruple to USD 40,000 with an income limit of USD 500,000, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the private talks. The cap would phase down for incomes above that level.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group, estimates that the House bill is shaping up to add roughly USD 3.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade. (AP) HIG HIG