WASHINGTON – Republican congressional leaders met with President Donald Trump on Tuesday in search of a clear path to enact sweeping changes to the nation’s border security, energy policy and tax code, even as they were stuck on an issue they had been mulling over for weeks.
Republicans have secured unified control of the government by promising voters they will pass novel laws on major policy areas, but they have not yet reached an agreement on whether to combine all the different changes into one measure or pass them in two separate packages.
GOP leaders also still need to identify where far-right and centrist members overlap in dozens of areas, because the votes of almost every Republican in Congress will be necessary for any bill to reach Trump’s desk.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said after returning to Capitol Hill that negotiators had not yet reached a consensus on their policy proposal package. It was Trump’s second day in office and the first meeting of top Republicans in the White House with his participation.
“Well, I think the discussion is always based on what we can do, and obviously we’re all interested in getting to the same goal,” Thune said.
The South Dakota Republican said that in addition to reaching a reconciliation agreement among themselves, GOP leaders must figure out how to fund the government before the March 14 deadline and how to address the nation’s debt limit before the default date. will take place later this year.
Both issues will require Republicans to reach an agreement with Democrats to avoid a partial government shutdown less than 100 days into Trump’s presidency or the nation’s first-ever debt default, which would likely trigger a global financial crisis.
“So there’s a lot to do, and part of it is just figuring out how to stage this and what’s the best way to get all these results,” Thune said, adding with a laugh that there are a lot of “great theories” about how to handle that’s all this year.
“But you know it’s always different when you have to put it into practice,” he said, outlining the complicated and bumpy road that accompanies writing election promises into legal form.
During a White House news conference after the meeting, Trump said he believed the House, Senate and White House had “largely” figured out the strategy.
“I think we’re in a good situation right now,” Trump said.
A challenging process
Republicans plan to employ the convoluted budget reconciliation process to pass their border security, energy and tax proposals without needing Democratic support to overcome the Senate’s legislative filibuster by a 60-vote majority.
This process requires that each part of the package affect federal revenues or spending in a way that the Senate parliamentarian does not deem “merely incidental.”
That could pose some challenges for committees tasked with crafting different parts of the package in the coming months, especially on immigration policy, which may lack the price tags that typically accompany the reconciliation process.
Democrats, for example, tried to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $15 an hour as part of the coronavirus relief bill they passed through reconciliation in 2021. However, the Senate parliamentarian ruled on its impact on the federal budget was “merely incidental,” prompting Democrats to remove the provision from the broader bill.
South Carolina Republican senator Lindsey Graham, then a top member of the Budget Committee, was fired written declaration in February 2021, praising the parliamentarian’s ruling on minimum wage language.
“I am very pleased that the Senate parliamentarian has ruled that the minimum wage increase constitutes an inappropriate policy change on reconciliation,” Graham wrote at the time. “This decision strengthens reconciliation and cannot be used as a tool to adopt major legislative changes – by either side – by a straightforward majority. This decision will strengthen the traditions of the Senate over time.”
Budget resolution
Republicans must agree on one, not two, reconciliation bills and generally on how to change U.S. law before they can officially begin the reconciliation process.
Before the House and Senate can begin the reconciliation process, they must vote to adopt a budget resolution that includes reconciliation instructions. This will require leaders to have at least a general outline of what they plan to do, how much they think it will cost and which committees have jurisdiction over those policy areas.
House GOP leaders hope to vote on a budget resolution in February, a bill in March, a vote in that chamber in early April and resolve any disputes with the Senate before the end of May, when they hope to send the entire package to Trump.
Ashley Murray and Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report.
Last updated: 19:09, January 21, 2025
