Welcome to The Hill's Business & Economy newsletter {beacon} Business & Economy Business & Economy   The Big Story  Senate GOP worries Trump’s tax agenda at risk Senate Republicans fear President-elect Trump’s tax agenda could be derailed in the House by potential landmines. © Getty Images Republicans are aiming to pass large pieces of Trump’s agenda through a process known as reconciliation, which bypasses the Senate filibuster and thus doesn’t require Democratic votes.    But House Republicans’ razor-thin majority presents an intraparty challenge.   “The House is a very thoughtful body, but sometimes it can be dysfunctional. They have a lot of personalities over there that they’ve got to get together with a very small majority to agree to it,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), a staunch Trump ally who has strong relationships with both Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.).   Mullin cited conservative Rep. Chip Roy’s (R-Texas) call for putting higher corporate tax rates “on the table” to pay for extending Trump’s expiring tax cuts as a concern.   The Oklahoma senator warned that if Roy votes against a tax package that doesn’t increase corporate taxes, the Speaker “really can only lose one more” Republican vote.   “If you were to put a lot of stuff together, it would be very difficult for Chip Roy to vote against border security and energy,” he said, explaining Johnson’s desire to move border security and tax relief in the same bill.      Mullin warned there are also potential defections on tax legislation in the House GOP conference from “the New York guys that are very serious about SALT.”   New York Rep. Mike Lawler (R) introduced legislation Wednesday to lift what he called “the unfair cap” on SALT deductions for single filers and $200,000 for married couples.   “This is a top priority for the Hudson Valley, and I’m committed to getting this done in the 119th Congress,” he declared.   The Speaker is hoping to increase his leverage over GOP colleagues on the tax package by attaching it to Trump’s broader legislative agenda, which would be difficult for any Republican House member to reject in total.   The Hill’s Alexander Bolton and Al Weaver have more here.    Welcome to The Hill’s Business & Economy newsletter, we’re Aris Folley and Taylor Giorno — covering the intersection of Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.   Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here.   Essential Reads  Key business and economic news with implications this week and beyond:   Macy’s, Kohl’s announce nationwide store closures: Here’s where Two major retailers announced store closures to start the year.  Full Story   US adds whopping 256K jobs in December The U.S. added 256,000 jobs and the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.1 percent in December, according to data released Friday by the Labor Department.  Full Story   Trump’s company unveils its ethics guidelines for his second term The Trump Organization announced Friday that President-elect Trump will have no involvement with the management of his family’s business and the company will donate profits received from foreign governments, as part of a batch of new ethics measures to be put in place during Trump’s second term.  Full Story   Vince McMahon, SEC reach $1.7M settlement over hush money payments World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) co-founder Vince McMahon reached a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday for failing to disclose two payments made on behalf of himself and the company.   Full Story {{if !contains(profile.lists,"Evening Report")}   {/if}}{{if !contains(profile.lists,"Evening Report")} COMING UP The Hill's Evening Report breaks down the day's big political stories and looks ahead to tomorrow. Click here to sign up & get it in your inbox {/if}}   The Ticker  Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: President-elect Trump meets this weekend with Republicans at Mar-a-Lago to negotiate state and local tax (SALT) deductions as Congress works to pass a new tax package. Senate committees kick off hearings with several Trump Cabinet nominees next week including prospective Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Energy Secretary Chris Wright.   In Other News  Branch out with more stories from the day: Surging job market could prove costly for households, businesses as odds of quick rate cuts fade WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. job growth surged and unemployment fell last month, an unexpected show of strength … Full Story   Good to Know  Business and economic news we've flagged from other outlets: IRS announces the start of the 2025 tax season (CNBC) Senate Democratic moderates say they want to work with GOP on tax cuts (Politico) The Trumps Are in Talks to Reclaim Their Prized D.C. Hotel (The Wall Street Journal)   What Others are Reading  Top stories on The Hill right now: Judge holds Giuliani in contempt for defaming Georgia election workers A federal judge on Friday held Rudy Giuliani in civil contempt for skirting an agreement not to make new false claims about two Georgia election workers he was ordered to pay $146 million for defaming.  Read more Judge sentences Trump to unconditional discharge, no punishment in hush money conviction President-elect Trump was spared any punishment for his hush money criminal conviction Friday when a New York judge sentenced him to an unconditional discharge, eschewing jail time while securing his status as the first person convicted of a felony to assume the presidency.  Read more   What People Think  Opinions related to business and economic issues submitted to The Hill: The best way to build diverse and inclusive companies is through culture design Corrective action is needed to preserve Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid      You're all caught up. 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