EXCLUSIVE: Trump tax cuts ‘top priority’ for Congress, says top House GOP leader
EXCLUSIVE – Following President Donald Trump’s "liberation day" tariffs announcement, a top House GOP leader is pushing for Congress to extend the president’s 2017 tax cuts, which he says is the next "top priority" for Republicans.
The passage of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was the first major legislative victory for the first Trump administration and represented one of the most significant achievements of his term.
Now, after the Senate passed a resolution Saturday night setting up a process known as reconciliation to bypass any potential Democratic filibuster, it’s up to the House to take the next step in making the cuts permanent.
Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who represents Minnesota and who holds one of the most influential roles in the House, told Fox News Digital that extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts is one of the party’s major points of focus, both in Congress and in the White House.
Emmer is holding an "Invest in America" roundtable discussion with Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) CEO Jay Timmons and other manufacturing leaders from across the country on Tuesday to discuss the importance of solidifying the cuts now.
According to Emmer's office, the roundtable discussion will also highlight financial literacy month and emphasize the need to give all Americans the tools to succeed financially.
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Emmer’s office told Fox News Digital that the roundtable will be centered on the importance of Congress preserving the 2017 tax cuts through reconciliation.
Reconciliation is a way to fast-track legislation on issues like taxes, the debt limit and federal spending by bypassing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passage, instead lowering it to a simple 51-vote majority.
"Following Liberation Day, there is a hunger for even more action to put American workers, businesses and production first," a representative for Emmer said in a statement. "Continuing the Trump tax cuts does that, and this discussion will display the urgency and importance of getting it done."
There are key aspects of the 2017 tax cuts related to manufacturing that are set to sunset at the end of the year. Emmer believes that if that happens it would result in the "largest tax hike in American history."
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"House Republicans and the Trump administration know the stakes are high for Americans regarding tax reform," said the representative.
Emmer’s office pointed to a NAM study that found a sunset on these tax reforms at the end of 2025 would cost America 6 million jobs, including over 1.1 million manufacturing jobs, as well as $540 billion in lost wages and $1.089 trillion in lost GDP.
While Trump’s tariff policy centers on increasing American productivity and manufacturing, the study posits that if Congress fails to extend the cuts, the country would be placed back in an uncompetitive international tax regime that "disincentivizes investment in the U.S. and hampers manufacturers’ ability to compete on the world stage."
NAM CEO Jay Timmons told Fox News Digital that he is calling on Congress to make the pro-manufacturing reforms in Trump’s 2017 tax cuts permanent, saying "every day without action harms manufacturers’ ability to invest in America and plan for the future."
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"Current economic conditions make renewal of the 2017 tax reforms even more urgent," said Timmons. "Passage of the original law ignited job creation, wage growth and investment across the country. And as a result, manufacturers kept our promises by expanding operations, boosting wages and benefits and hiring at record levels. But now key provisions have already expired, and others are set to lapse at the end of this year."
"It is past time to make these reforms permanent and more competitive," he added. "When manufacturing wins, America wins."
For his part, Emmer told Fox News Digital that extending the tax reforms is a "top priority for House Republicans, the Trump administration, and American manufacturers alike."
"The American people are hungry for an economic boom that is already underway," he said. "But [it] will only be fully realized if Congress acts to continue the 2017 Trump tax cuts through reconciliation."
Meanwhile, Bessent told Fox News Digital that "making President Trump’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Act permanent will help to secure the stable business environment that investors are seeking."
"Stability in tax policy fosters certainty, and extending the TCJA will drive growth and managements, investment, and hiring as we enter America’s new economic golden age," he went on, adding, "I look forward to continuing this important conversation with Majority Whip Emmer and members of Congress to deliver on these important reforms for the American people."