Over the next several weeks, Congress will begin to negotiate a new tax bill, one that Republicans are hoping looks similar to the tax law signed into law during the first Trump administration eight years ago.

But Democrats, who could be critical to getting the bill passed in a House with such a slim majority, are encouraging Republicans to include an increased child tax credit in the package.

“I asked Chairman Smith of the Ways and Means Committee, ‘hey, if you're willing to negotiate a deal, let's negotiate a deal. But are you going to bend the knee the minute Donald Trump or Elon Musk tweet? Because if that's the case, then there's no trust and you can’t negotiate something that's beneficial for working people.’” said Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., who chairs the Dads Caucus.

What You Need To Know

  • As Congress prepares to negotiate a new tax bill, Democrats such as Dads Caucus chair Rep. Jimmy Gomez, D-Calif., is hoping to see an expanded and extended child tax credit

  • The tax credit as written is $2,000 per child for eligible families, but proponents are hoping to see that number raised to the pandemic-era $3,600 per child or higher

  • Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is pushing for an expanded child tax credit of $5,000, saying Republicans need to deliver on their campaign promises to help working families

  • House GOP Leadership is aiming to have a new tax bill on President Trump's desk later this spring

The tax credit for qualifying families currently sits at $2,000 but could be split in half if the Trump tax plan is not renewed or expanded. During the pandemic, the tax credit was raised to $3,600, but that has since expired. Gomez, who serves on the Ways and Means committee that will be tasked with writing the new tax bill, has been an advocate for pandemic-era levels to be reinstated as a starting point for these negotiations. 

He said that a tax bill with big tax cuts for the wealthy and no expansion of the child tax credit is a red line.

“We want to have a real impact on reducing the cost of living, making America affordable. Let's negotiate that – a  child tax credit extension and expansion, one that's paid monthly, not yearly. Also, helping invest in childcare. Childcare is a major expense for working people,” pointed out Gomez, who said last month he paid nearly $2,200 a month for childcare “which is considered average.”

While Gomez has been a leading voice on the issue in the House, he may have an unlikely ally in a staunch Republican on the other side of Capitol Hill.

“We must reshape our nation's tax policy and indeed rebuild our nation's economy around our nation's families. And the surest way to do that is to reform and expand the child tax credit," said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. in an impassioned floor speech last week. “Here's my proposal. We should more than double that amount. We should dramatically increase it. We should make it $5,000 per child.”

Hawley cited research that has found Americans want to have more children, but the costs associated with growing their families are simply too large. He sees an extended and expanded child tax credit as a way to help ease the burden.

“For every Republican who went out and campaigned on strengthening families, on delivering for working people – for every Republican who has hailed the new working class coalition that President Trump has assembled, this is the time to deliver,” said Hawley in his speech.

On Wednesday, he doubled down on the issue, saying $3,600 is too low, and that he will be pushing for a $5,000 increase.

"In order to deliver real tax relief to working families, you've got to find a way to reduce their payroll tax burden. We're not going to cut the payroll tax because that funds Social Security, but the  child tax credit rewards families. It helps people who have real and immediate needs and having kids," he explained. "it is a way to deliver meaningful, powerful, big tax relief to families who need it and who have earned it, who are paying taxes."

When asked if a tax bill without an expansion of the child tax credit was a red line for him, Hawley did not go as far as Gomez, but said the new tax bill has "got to include an extension" of where the current child tax credit sits at $2,000 which happened under Trumps first term. "I'd like to see us more than double it again," he said. "I can tell you absolutely, we'll absolutely be pushing for this, this huge priority of mine."

Gomez says he hopes Republicans are willing to make good on such talk, but that he still has reservations, as a majority of Republicans eye potentially just extending the Trump tax law as is. 

“They're basically, upping the child tax credit and then taking other stuff away. So the devil's in the details. I would have to first see what they're planning,” he said.

“I would love to see an expansion for, you know, $3,000… $4,000, but at the same time, make it advanceable,” Gomez continued. “I want to see people get that money monthly because people don't pay grocery bills on a yearly basis. They don't just pay grocery bills when they get without their taxes.” 

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has outlined a goal to have a tax bill on Trump's desk this spring.