Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) shake hands during Suozzi's ceremonial swearing in at the U.S. Capitol Feb. 28, 2024. (Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images) | AP
MUCH ADO ABOUT SALT
Blue-state Democrats have campaigned for years on restoring the full state and local tax deduction after House Republicans capped it in 2017. They’re surprisingly OK if Republicans get the credit for fixing it.
State of play: Republicans are drafting a reconciliation package(s) that will include changes to tax policy, which means arguments over SALT are back in full force. As you know, reconciliation means the GOP can skirt a Senate filibuster, allowing the party to pass legislation without Democratic support.
The complicated politics: Wanting to repeal the $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes crosses political parties in odd ways. It’s long been a vexing issue for both Democrats and Republicans in states with high property taxes, such as California, New York and New Jersey. The cap — which Republicans passed as part of their 2017 tax law and will expire at the end of the year unless Congress acts — represents a huge tax increase for many people in those states. That puts a lot of pressure on those lawmakers to change it, especially those in purple districts.
But there are staunch opponents in both parties, as well. Some progressives aren’t inclined to give more tax benefits away to wealthier Americans, and fiscal conservatives are loath to expand a tax credit that could add to the deficit.
Signs of movement: A group of blue-state Republican lawmakers are making the trek this weekend to Mar-a-Lago to discuss a SALT proposal with President-elect Donald Trump.
The Dem argument: Purple-district Democrats are holding out hope that Republicans will succeed in ending the cap — and solve the problem for them.
“I think it's great that the people that are supportive of SALT are holding their colleagues accountable and letting them know that they're going to withhold their votes unless they get satisfaction on SALT,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi. The New York Democrat called GOP discussions to raise the cap to $20,000 “unacceptable,” as Democrats have pushed to remove the cap entirely.
But asked whether it mattered which party passed it, he replied: “In the end, I want to get it done.”
Contrast that with other issues like immigration, where parties have clamored to take credit for positive developments and frequently laid blame for problems. Negotiations over SALT started almost as soon as the 2017 tax law passed, and neither party has been able to solve the issue (some Democrats threatened to vote against their mammoth, party-line bill unless it included changes to SALT, but they ultimately folded). Lawmakers from those states are tired of pushing for changes with nothing to show for it.
The SALT Republicans have campaigned on repealing the SALT cap entirely, but conservatives are highly unlikely to let that happen, as they push to lower the deficit. Still, their Democratic counterparts are cheering them on.
“I trust that they're going to do the right thing when it comes to making sure that there's the proper negotiations for a proper amount of what the cap will end up being,” said Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.).
Of course, top Democrats aren’t ready to forgive Republicans for taking the deduction away in the first place.
“The Republicans burned the house down and now want to pretend that they're firefighters,” quipped House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
— Nicholas Wu and Mia McCarthy
A message from Delta:
SALUTING A LIFE OF SERVICE.On behalf of the entire Delta family, we celebrate the life of former President Jimmy Carter. Personifying philanthropy, he dedicated his life to helping those in need and showed us all how to properly treat our fellow humans – even shaking hands with every customer every time he flew Delta. Rest in peace, President Carter. Your legacy lives on. We’ll all be better off following the example you leave behind.
GOOD EVENING! Welcome to Inside Congress, the play-by-play guide to all things Capitol Hill, on this Friday, Jan. 10, where we’re getting ready for more snow over the weekend.
YOUR GUIDE TO SENATE CONFIRMATION HEARINGS
Buckle up, it’s Senate confirmation hearing time. Next week will bring the start of confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet picks.
What we’re watching: Hegseth’s appearance before the Senate Armed Services Committee is where you’re most likely to see fireworks here. We’re still keeping an eye on if Tulsi Gabbard gets a hearing next week on her forthcoming director of national intelligence nomination. Senate Intelligence Republicans wanted to give her a hearing before Inauguration Day, but so far she’s not on the schedule. A person familiar with the matter told us Friday that the committee was still waiting on the FBI background check and documents from the Office of Government Ethics.
Here’s the hearing schedule:
TUESDAY:
9 a.m.: Doug Collins for Veterans Affairs secretary
9:30 a.m.: Pete Hegseth for Defense secretary
10 a.m.: Doug Burgum for Interior secretary
WEDNESDAY:
9 a.m.: Kristi Noem for Homeland Security secretary
9:30 a.m.: Day one of Pam Bondi’s attorney general hearings
10 a.m.: Chris Wright for Energy secretary
10 a.m.: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) for secretary of State
10 a.m.: John Ratcliffe for CIA director
10 a.m.: Sean Duffy for Transportation secretary
1 p.m.: Russ Vought for Office of Management and Budget director
THURSDAY
10 a.m.: Eric Scott Turner for Housing and Urban Development secretary
10:15 a.m.: Day two of Bondi’s attorney general hearing
— Jordain Carney, with an assist from Nicholas Wu
A message from Delta:
WILL DEMS GET AMENDMENTS?
After an overwhelming vote to advance the GOP's first bill to address illegal immigration, Senate Majority Leader John Thune now has a decision to make: Will he give Democrats amendments to the Laken Riley Act?
To be totally clear: It’s not completely up to Thune. In order to get an amendment vote without a lengthy drawn out process, every senator has to agree to let it come up for a vote.
Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who introduced the Senate version of the legislation, said on Thursday she's “certainly open” to amendments and that they’ve been “talking with our colleagues.” Still, she stressed the bill is not meant to be a comprehensive immigration package, but rather a “targeted” measure. Amendments could easily widen the scope of the legislation, if adopted. And there are some warning signs for Democrats here already: Sen. Tom Cotton, the No. 3 Republican senator, accused Democrats on Friday of trying to “weaken” the bill.
“We're not going to let Democrats play this game,” he added.
Though the bill advanced in an 84-9 vote, several Democrats prefaced their continued support on being able to amend the bill. Also, the Biden administration is saying that implementing it as written would cost Immigration and Customs Enforcement more than $3 billion.
— Jordain Carney and Ursula Perano
A message from Delta:
SALUTING A LIFE OF SERVICE.On behalf of the entire Delta family, we celebrate the life of former President Jimmy Carter. He was a great friend, loving family man and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who reached the highest levels of public service as Georgia governor and then as U.S. president. His commitment to organizations such as The Carter Center and Habitat for Humanity International proves volunteerism knows no borders. Personifying philanthropy, he dedicated his life to helping those in need and showed us all how to properly treat our fellow humans – even shaking hands with every customer every time he flew Delta. Rest in peace, President Carter. Your legacy lives on. We’ll all be better off following the example you leave behind.
HUDDLE HOTDISH
Some congressional Democrats aren’t fans of putting football exclusively on Amazon Prime
Heidi Heitkamp is retiring from her role leading the University of Chicago Institute of Politics.
Tristan Breaux will be chief of staff for Rep. Shomari Figures (D-Ala.). He most recently was director of federal affairs for Tyson Foods and is an Eleanor Holmes Norton and Joe Cunningham alum.
Noelle Rosellini will be chief of staff for Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.). She previously served progressive leaders on Capitol Hill, helping launch Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-Wash.) communications operation in her first term and advising Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) as deputy chief of staff.
Imani Hamm will be District Director for McIver. Most recently, she served as the deputy campaign manager for McIver.
Layla A. Brooks will be legislative director for McIver. She’s an alum of the legislative teams of Reps. Troy Carter (D-La.), Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) and the Senate Environment and Public Works, Senate Rules and Administration, and House Homeland Security Committees.
Taylor Deacon will be communications director for McIver. She’s an alum of the communications teams of Reps. Don Davis (D-N.C.), Dean Phillips (D-Minn.), and Julia Brownley (D-Calif.). Before her work on Capitol Hill, she was with ROKK Solutions and the North Carolina Democratic Party.
MONDAY IN CONGRESS
The House and Senate are in.
MONDAY AROUND THE HILL
Send us your events at insidecongress@politico.com.
TRIVIA
THURSDAY’S ANSWER: Alex Milliken correctly answered that Elizabeth Warren is the first female senator from Massachusetts.
TODAY’S QUESTION, from Alex: Who was the only presidential candidate to be born in the Panama Canal Zone?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.
