House Republicans warn Thune against making too many changes to Senate's version of Trump megabill

A coalition of 38 House Republicans on Tuesday sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., warning him against making any changes to a megabill that would make it unable to pass both chambers.

The warning comes as the lower chamber reworks its own version of President Donald Trump's "One Big, Beautiful Bill" which passed the House last month. Senate Republicans sent a list of dealbreakers to the House on Tuesday.

The new coalition, led by House Budget Vice Chair Lloyd Smucker, warned that any new tax cuts would need to be offset by real spending reductions, and encouraged the chamber to adopt the same framework as the House, Politico reported.

“We recognize the Senate will have its own say to make changes to the bill, and we welcome amendments that increase verifiable savings and make the overall package even more sustainable,” the House Republicans wrote in their letter. “Additional spending reduction strengthens the bill and the nation alike. What cannot change is the architecture established by the House framework.” 

The group also discouraged Thune from implementing any tactics like changing the timing of some of its policies, in hopes of reducing the overall cost of the bill.

The letter is the latest red line for Senate Republicans, after New York GOP Rep. Nick LaLota said his line is any negative changes to the cap on state-and-local-tax (SALT) deductions that House Republicans agreed on. 

Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy also said he would oppose the new bill if Senate Republicans attempted to change the phaseout of clean-energy tax credits from the Biden administration. 

Each chamber can only afford to lose three votes and each is hoping to see the megabill pass by July 4. 

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.