LaLota and Garbarino will get 'SALT-y' with Trump at Mar-a-Lago

Daily Point

House Republicans from LI have hopes for 'big, beautiful bill' 

President-elect Donald Trump has invited Republican Reps. Nick LaLota and Andrew Garbarino, along with a small group of what LaLota called "the most SALT-y House Republicans," to Mar-a-Lago for a meeting and dinner Saturday evening.

While no topic was specified in the invitation, both LaLota and Garbarino said they expect that the future of the state and local tax deduction, known as SALT, would be on the menu.

Saturday’s meeting comes just days after House Speaker Mike Johnson told other Republicans that Trump wanted "one big beautiful bill" that addresses issues including the border, energy and tax policy all at once. Since then, however, Trump has said he’d be amenable to a two-bill strategy.

Either way, LaLota and Garbarino told The Point Monday that SALT has to be part of any conversation on those bills. The $10,000 cap on SALT deductions is set to expire this year which would mean filers would have unlimited deductions for state and local taxes if the topic isn’t addressed in the new tax bill. During the campaign, Trump promised to "get SALT back."

LaLota said the scheduling of Saturday’s meeting shows Trump understands the need to secure the votes of House Republicans in blue states where SALT impacts residents most, like New York, New Jersey and California.

"I think he recognizes the importance of assuaging the concerns of us SALT-y Republicans," LaLota told The Point. "I would not vote for a big beautiful bill without a SALT fix."

LaLota said that he and other Republicans concerned about SALT already have a texting group chat — and plan to meet in person on Wednesday in advance of Saturday’s meeting with Trump. Among those attending are LaLota, Garbarino, Rep. Mike Lawler from Rockland County, who wants to run for New York governor in 2026, New Jersey Rep. Tom Kean Jr., and California Rep. Young Kim.

Garbarino told The Point that the meeting is one of several Trump is hosting over the weekend, with others including the Freedom Caucus and a group of House committee chairpeople. But the SALT-y group got the prime-time dinner slot, which bodes well, according to Garbarino.

Garbarino said Saturday’s meeting could also include conversations about Medicare, Medicaid and the Inflation Reduction Act energy tax credits which the same group of representatives are hoping to maintain.

But SALT will likely be the main course. Neither Garbarino nor LaLota, however, would reveal what high cap they’ll be seeking or what they would settle for.

"I’m really interested in what he thinks," Garbarino said of Trump. "I don’t know what the president-elect will start on. I want to hear what he has to say before I speculate. He may come in and say, ‘Let’s bring it all back for you.’"

Now that would be a dinner to remember.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

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Quick Points

Hazy progress

• State officials expect marijuana retail store openings to skyrocket in 2025, leading to substantial hikes above the $800 million in sales and $67 million in state sales tax revenue recorded in 2024. There were no rosy predictions about the increased addiction and impaired driving issues.
• Regarding the State Legislature’s agenda for the upcoming session, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said, "I think people are going to be pleased in how much of a concentration we have in trying to put money back in peoples’ pockets." No, Speaker Heastie, they’ll be pleased in how much you actually put back in their pockets.
• After Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and an Islamic State group killed more than 140 people in a Russian concert hall in March, FBI Director Christopher Wray warned that a renewal of Mideast-related violence could embolden individuals in the United States to carry out similar attacks. Last week, a U.S. Army veteran inspired by ISIS drove his pickup into New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans and killed 14 people. Sometimes, you must wish you weren’t right.
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• New Senate Majority Leader John Thune on his caucus: "We’ll disagree on the margins and the process and all that sort of thing, but when it comes to the things we need to get done for the American people, that we think move the country in the right direction, those are things I think we agree on." They all start out as optimists.
• On his relationship with President-elect Donald Trump, Thune said, "It’s evolving." As all Trump’s relationships do.

— Michael Dobie michael.dobie@newsday.com

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