House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) criticized a proposal backed by President Donald Trump that would hike taxes for the wealthy.
During an interview over the weekend, Johnson was asked whether he was “seriously considering” proposals seeking to allow the top marginal tax rate to revert back to 39.6%.
“I’m not a big fan of doing that,” Johnson said on Fox News’s Sunday Morning Futures.
“We’re the Republican Party, and we’re for tax reduction for everyone — that’s a general principle that we always try to abide by. There’s lots of discussion and lots of ideas on the Hill. People have different thoughts and theories on how we can solve this perfect equation to get all of this done. But I wouldn’t put any money on any of that yet,” he continued.
Johnson’s comments threw cold water on a proposal from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) that would raise taxes for millionaires. When Graham pitched the idea to Trump during a recent budget meeting with top Senate Republicans, the president reportedly said he was open to the tax proposal.
However, on Sunday, Johnson warned lawmakers not to get ahead of themselves with controversial policy proposals.
“I would say just stay tuned,” he said. “The next five to six weeks are going to be critical as all these negotiations happen in the committees of jurisdiction. You’ll hear lots of rumors and lots of talk, but we’ll see where it all lands. We’ve got to build consensus. Remember, I’ve got to get 218 votes in the House, and we’ve got to get 51 votes in the Senate. So you can be assured that there’ll be a comfort level for everyone before we move that bill to the floor.”
TRUMP OPEN TO TAX ON MILLIONAIRES TO PAY FOR SECOND-TERM AGENDA
The budget debate came as Trump has been working with Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) to push a “big beautiful bill” through Congress. The bill includes up to $1.5 trillion in tax cuts and billions of dollars in federal spending cuts.
“They have a very big agenda, but the thinnest of pathways to getting it through,” Alex Conant, a GOP strategist and a partner at Firehouse Strategies, told the Washington Examiner. “And the Republican Conference is ideologically pretty diverse. Any party that is a coalition of populists and conservatives is going to have big internal disagreements.”
