Doral, Florida. At President Donald Trump’s golf club in sunny south Florida, ebullient House Republicans met this week to toast the president, Vice President JD Vance, and the party’s takeover of the federal government.
However, the question is not whether the honeymoon will end, but rather when.
Trump, Vance, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other prominent Republican leaders largely avoided discussing how they intend to pay for or pass a comprehensive package that will serve as the centerpiece of the president’s legislative agenda during a three-day policy retreat at Trump National Doral Miami.
Instead, a week after they took over Washington, the emphasis was on party unity. Instead of heated arguments about government expenditures and legislative process, the conference was full of sunlight, palm trees, and pool time, giving politicians plenty of opportunity to socialize.
During a visit that lasted almost an hour, Vance told the rank-and-file Republicans, “Let’s work together to get much needed work done.” Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., who was present at the private meeting, said, “Let’s resolve conflicts as a team.”
However, the Republicans will have no room for error as they face a daunting array of complex issues, including raising the debt ceiling, preventing a government shutdown in March, and passing a reconciliation package that includes tougher border provisions, boosting energy, and renewing multi-trillion-dollar Trump tax cuts. Their slim 218-215 majority will only get smaller once Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is confirmed as the U.S. ambassador to the UN.
“The House Budget Committee will mark up a new budget resolution when lawmakers return to Washington next week, which will jumpstart the reconciliation process and allow the GOP to try to pass their agenda without any Democrats,” Johnson added. Committees of jurisdiction will start writing legislation for the larger package as soon as the House passes that.
Johnson said, “Stay tuned on the specifics,” to reporters on Tuesday.
However, the GOP’s internal disputes appear to be simmering beneath the surface.
There is a long list of desires between the White House, the House, and the Senate. “We’re in the winnowing process, and not everything will make it into the final package,” stated Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-S.D., a Johnson ally and the chairman of the Main Street Caucus, whose members identify as pragmatists.
To help offset the package’s skyrocketing costs, fiscal conservatives are also calling for significant spending cuts. However, that might turn off some moderate Republicans like Bacon, who will have to contend with fierce reelection contests in 2026, a year with a midterm election that is not anticipated to be good for Republicans because they own the White House.
Additionally, Trump informed lawmakers that he does not want them to eliminate Social Security and Medicare, two of the largest entitlement programs, which would leave Republicans with less alternatives for how to fund their ideas.
We will cover the cost. The deficit cannot be increased during reconciliation. You have to pay for it. There is a cost associated with the tax cuts, you know. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, stated, “I believe we will be paying for that.”
“Look,” he continued, “we’re dealing with reality, not just feelings.” I am therefore looking forward to the following two weeks.
Rep. Tim Burchett, a conservative from Tennessee, stated that he and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, had been talking about addressing Medicaid fraud. Burchett is also a member of the new DOGE subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee, which is chaired by Greene.
“If we’re ever going to try to do anything, I think we need to address the fraud in there,” Burchett stated.
Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., a leader of the Main Street Caucus, whose members identify as pragmatists, stated that one way Republicans could finance their demands would be to resume student loan repayments after President Joe Biden implemented freezes for millions of borrowers.
Since we’ve been discussing it for a while, getting these loans repaid is one of the simpler pay-fors, Flood told reporters. “Proposed cuts to Medicaid and nutrition programs would be among the tougher pay-fors,” he noted.
As they investigate that, it will be intriguing to see how far the membership wishes to go, according to Flood.
The stakes of failure for the Republican Party were outlined by former House Foreign Affairs Committee head Rep. Mike McCaul, R-Texas.
“Passing this reconciliation bill, which addresses the border, defense, and tax cut extenders, is extremely necessary. “As a Congress, we fail if we don’t accomplish that,” McCaul told reporters.
“After all, we received a gift from the American people. “They provided us with a trifecta,” he continued. “If we don t deliver back home, there will be consequences, and I think every member here needs to understand that the president s made it clear that we need to deliver on this.”
Johnson discussed the significance of addressing reconciliation in a single package during a private meeting between the House GOP leadership team and rank-and-file members on Tuesday, according to Bacon.
Even though some House conservatives and Senate Republicans are calling for reconciliation to be divided into two bills, the speaker has argued for it both in public and privately. Trump has stated that he only wants his agenda to be completed and doesn’t care if it is carried in one or two legislation.
Trump told House Republicans on Monday, “We have to finish that and we don’t want to get bogged down in the budget process.” I don’t care if it’s one bill or two bills. Give it to these men; they’ll figure it out. In one way or another, they will figure it out.