Betrayed by Trump: Analyst says this swing district Republican is 'not happy'

20 May

U.S. President Donald Trump gestures next to U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), on the day of a closed House Republican Conference meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 20, 2025. REUTERS/Ken Cedeno

President Donald Trump's efforts to win over a core bloc of House Republicans may be backfiring.

That's according to Punchbowl News co-founder Jake Sherman, who told MSNBC host Katy Tur on Tuesday that the House GOP's "SALT Caucus" [blue state lawmakers pushing for an increased state and local tax deduction] could end up tanking Trump's so-called "big, beautiful bill." Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) in particular is feeling spurned by Trump following the president's press conference in which he publicly called out Lawler and other swing district Republicans pushing for a more generous SALT deduction.

"I don't think he's happy. you know, and here's here's why he's probably not happy. Trump campaigned on on getting rid of the SALT problem," Sherman said. "There is no ambiguity. At his rally in September — I believe it was in Nassau Coliseum — a rally that I believe Nick LaLota, one of the SALT people, attended and was a big rally."

"The SALT issue was, Katy, from the beginning, one of the earliest issues brought up by a significant bloc of House Republicans," Sherman continued. "...If I were the leadership looking back at this, you could have built this entire bill with the idea that you would have to do something big on SALT because they said it."

Sherman went on to say that Trump "wouldn't have a Republican House if it weren't for the SALT Caucus," given that the GOP was only able to win back control of the House of Representatives in the 2022 midterm elections thanks to the elections of blue state Republicans like Reps. LaLota and Lawler. And Sherman predicted that Trump would likely have to quell further opposition from those swing district lawmakers until he green-lights a higher SALT deduction.

"The SALT folks are going to dig in more," Sherman said. "[Republican leaders] want to get this on the floor tomorrow. They're having some problems, actually ... But you know, this is a gigantic bill. And there are still not dozens but a half a dozen issues that are open. That is not unheard of but very unusual."

House Republicans are aiming to have a procedural vote on the legislation early Wednesday morning at 1 AM. However, even if the bill passes the House, it's likely the Senate will make significant changes once it reaches the upper chamber of Congress.

Watch the full segment below, or by clicking this link.

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