5 key players in the fight over Trump tax cuts

President-elect Trump and Republicans have spent years preparing for a chance to cement their hallmark 2017 tax law and make even deeper changes to the tax code.

With a clean sweep of the White House and Congress, that chance has finally arrived.

Trump and congressional Republicans are aiming to extend 2017 cuts to personal income tax rates, the centerpiece of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which are set to lapse in 2026. The GOP is also looking to cut the corporate income tax rate even further, and Trump proposed scrapping taxes on tips and Social Security benefits.

Here are five key figures in the fight over Trump’s tax cuts

Treasury secretary nominee Scott Bessent

Bessent is expected to play a critical role in the push for a tax bill as Trump’s right-hand man on all things financial and economic policy.

During the first Trump administration, former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was a key emissary between the White House and Congress as Republicans cobbled together the TCJA.

While Trump is typically the center of gravity in any policy discussion, Bessent could wield significant influence over both the president’s thinking and how lawmakers craft the legislation.

An investor who threw his support behind the Trump campaign, Bessent is known for his experience on Wall Street and knowledge of currency markets. His background could be useful as Trump and Republicans seek changes to the corporate tax rate and international tax provisions.

Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.)

Thune will be responsible for shepherding the tax bill through the Senate as the new leader of the Republican conference.

The incoming Senate majority leader could face plenty of obstacles along the way.

Thune was elected to succeed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) despite considerable resistance from Trump’s closest allies. MAGA Republicans have long considered Thune, like McConnell, part of a GOP establishment dead set on trying to contain Trump’s influence.

Trump and Thune’s frosty relationship could be tested by any number of delays in the upper chamber. The influence of the Senate parliamentarian, which could curb what Republicans can pass through budget reconciliation, could be another flash point between the White House and Senate.

Thune will also have to consider the pressures facing the Senate GOP as it prepares to defend several vulnerable incumbents ahead of the 2026 midterms. Election forecasters expect Republicans to face a brutal challenge defending their majority on an unfavorable map and against the usual backlash to a president from the same party.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.)

Johnson’s ability to maintain good relations with warring factions of the GOP has him on track to secure another term as speaker despite raging questions about his political future.

That skill set will face a serious test as Republicans attempt to pass a major tax bill — and the budget resolution that must precede it — within a 100-day goal.

Johnson once again will preside over a razor-thin GOP majority, giving any small group of Republicans the ability to block a bill from passing. The Speaker will have to navigate competing interests among his own members while coordinating with Trump and the Senate on a bill that can make it into law.

Fiscal hawks who are wary of adding even more to the $36-trillion national debt could refuse to support a bill without sufficient spending cuts to cover lower tax revenue.

More than a dozen Republicans from blue states also have warned Johnson against cutting Inflation Reduction Act credits that are key to their district’s well-being.

And several other Republicans from high-tax states have insisted on raising the state and local tax deduction (SALT) in any tax bill. The deduction was slashed by the 2017 tax bill, but Trump has pledged to reinstate it in the follow-up.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.)

Jeffries will be the top-ranking Democrat in Washington after Trump’s inauguration, making him the tip of the spear of resistance to Trump’s tax bill.

Republicans are expected to use budget reconciliation to advance a tax bill, which would allow them to pass the measure in both the House and Senate with simple majority votes and forgo the need to win Democratic support.

While the GOP is on track to go it alone, Jeffries may face pressure from moderate members of his caucus, who may be eager to show their independent streaks by support a major tax-cut bill.

Jeffries may also have opportunities to slow down the tax-cut march with amendments and other legislative maneuvers meant to foster divisions among Republicans.

Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.)

As chair of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Smith will play a key role in crafting an eventual tax bill and getting it ready to pass the House.

Smith won the gavel of one of the House’s most powerful committees in 2023, succeeding former Ways and Means Chair Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) as the panel’s top Republicans.

Brady, already a veteran lawmaker, endeared himself to Trump and cemented himself as a key figure in his first term for getting the TCJA through the House.

A similar effort from Smith, 44, could boost the lawmaker’s stock among Trump and his GOP colleagues while drawing the attention of deep-pocketed K Street donors, who are eager to shape the legislation.