Republican Rep. Andy Harris says he would support a tax increase on wealthy

Ben Mause, The Baltimore Sun on May 9, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

Conservative Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md., publicly supported a tax increase to the wealthiest Americans on Friday.

“Ideally, what we could do — again, if we can’t find spending reductions — is say, ‘OK, let’s restore that higher bracket. Let’s set it at maybe $2 million income and above to help pay for the rest of the president’s agenda,” Harris said on Fox Business.

Harris is the leader of the House Freedom Caucus, the most conservative wing of the Republican conference. Lawmakers in this fiscally concerned group have so far withheld their support from the Republican spending package making its way through Congress, hoping for federal savings through cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

But with moderate Republicans entrenched against sweeping changes, Harris is now open to an avenue long considered anathema to conservatives.

“Personally, I’ve always believed that if we can’t find spending reductions elsewhere, we should look at restoring the pre TCJA tax bracket on million dollar income to help pay for the president’s agenda,” Harris added in his post on X. The congressman was referring to tax brackets before the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which is set to expire at the end of this year.

The openness to a higher tax rate aligns Harris with President Donald Trump’s recent interest in a tax increase on extremely high earners.

Trump reportedly brought up the issue with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, on a phone call earlier this week.

Johnson told Fox News last month that he was not in favor of raising taxes because “our party is the group that stands against that, traditionally.”

Trump posted a Truth Social message on Friday saying he would support the idea if Republicans decide to pursue it.

“The problem with even a ‘TINY’ tax increase for the RICH, which I and all others would graciously accept in order to help the lower and middle income workers, is that the Radical Left Democrat Lunatics would go around screaming, ‘Read my lips,’ the fabled Quote by George Bush the Elder that is said to have cost him the Election,” Trump posted, adding that he didn’t believe the quote cost Bush the election. “In any event, Republicans should probably not do it, but I’m okay if they do!!!”

_____