A number of blue state lawmakers, made up mostly of New Yorkers, will meet with Speaker Johnson on Thursday morning to discuss the possibility of raising the cap on the State and Local Tax deduction. The fight over a new tax break for wealthier, higher taxed states is leading to heated arguments among House Republicans more broadly. 

Mr. Johnson is expected to meet with a small group of House members in his office on Thursday. The leaders of that group include Congressman Andrew Garbarino, Congressman Mike Lawler, Congressman Nick LaLota, and Congresswoman Elise Stefanik — all from New York state. Congressman Tom Kean of New Jersey and Congresswoman Young Kim of California are also expected to attend. 

The speaker and the Ways and Means Committee chairman, Congressman Jason Smith, have tried to offer the group — who describe themselves as “SALT-y” — an olive branch. They said they would raise the SALT deduction cap to $30,000 for households making less than $400,000, up from the current $10,000 limit. 

Mr. LaLota tells the Sun that his small band of blue staters and Mr. Johnson are “still pretty far away” from an agreement, even headed into the critical meeting on Thursday. 

“Hopefully somebody can breathe some oxygen into this otherwise dead bill,” he said. 

Earlier in the day, Mr. LaLota told reporters that Mr. Smith was being dishonest about the workability of a SALT cap increase. “Chairman Smith hasn’t been honest with us with the math he’s presented to us during numerous meetings, nor is he being honest with the public on the vote map,” Mr. LaLota said. “He’s crafting a bill that cannot get the support of at least five SALT-y Republicans.”

Mr. LaLota tells the Sun that, at this point, he doesn’t even want to hear from Mr. Smith or any of his deputies on the tax-writing committee. “If I got those calls, they probably wouldn’t be helpful,” he said. 

It isn’t just Messrs. Johnson and Smith who are clearly frustrated with the New Yorkers who are threatening to sink President Trump’s “one big beautiful bill.” On Wednesday, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly attacked Mr. Lawler on X, saying that he was being greedy and a disloyal Republican. 

“Mike Lawler usually isn’t the guy in the conference with the best ideas,” Ms. Greene said Wednesday. “With the median income of $118,882 in Lawler’s district the SALT cap of $30,000 should be an easy YES for Mike Lawler. The rest of America doesn’t want to and shouldn’t have to make up the difference!!!!!”

“What’s the point in Republicans fighting to protect and keep re-electing ‘Republicans’ if they constantly undermine the agenda America voted for???” she asked. 

Mr. Lawler was quick to shoot back, saying that she wouldn’t be in the majority were it not for Mr. Lawler winning his seat last year in a district that Vice President Harris carried. 

“Shockingly the ‘Jewish Space Laser” lady once again doesn’t have a clue what she is talking about,” Mr. Lawler wrote. 

Pressure on the New Yorkers is even coming from their own home state. On Wednesday night, the Wall Street Journal editorial board encouraged the New York representatives to take Mr. Johnson’s $30,000 cap with the income limit. If not, it argues, then Mr. Johnson should give them nothing at all and force them to vote to kill Mr. Trump’s legislation. 

“It’s bad policy to raise the SALT cap at all, much less to triple it. But if that isn’t enough for holdouts, Speaker Johnson should consider the Michael Corleone option: nothing. No SALT increase,” the editorial board wrote.