According to two people with direct knowledge who spoke to NBC News, newly re-elected House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stated at a closed-door House Republican retreat Saturday morning that President-elect Donald Trump supported passing a single reconciliation bill that would address his priorities, such as border security, energy, and an extension of his signature 2017 tax law.
GOP members have publicly discussed whether to try to pass one or two reconciliation legislation to forward their agenda since the November election, when Republicans regained control of the House and the Senate.
Through reconciliation, the Senate’s customary 60-vote threshold for passing legislation is suspended, allowing Congress to enact party-line policies on spending and taxation with simple majority votes.
Even if laws were passed through reconciliation, Republican lawmakers would still have little leeway to lose GOP votes because of the slim Republican majority in the House and the four-seat GOP control in the Senate.
Johnson’s disclosure that Trump supports a single reconciliation bill is significant because some members of the president-elect’s inner circle, such as his immigration policy adviser Stephen Miller and others who will be involved in any package negotiations, have been pressuring Republicans to support two different reconciliation bills: one that addresses immigration and the other that focuses on Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which are set to expire later this year.
Many in the leadership will be happy that Trump has endorsed just one plan, but some hardliners who want the border addressed right now may take it personally.
Republicans in the Senate have already started laying the groundwork for a reconciliation package that would simply address the border, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., supported a two-bill approach in December.
As Thunet told reporters last month, I think it makes sense to move swiftly on the things we know we can do quickly, including border, military, and energy. And then return with another package later this year that would deal with the expiring Trump tax cuts as well as some of the savings that may be obtained by cutting costs in various government programs, agencies, and bureaucracies.
The majority of Republicans in Congress have voiced concerns about trying to pass two budget bills in one year using the convoluted procedure that enables them to get over the 60-vote threshold. They argue that bringing the party together around two large legislation instead of just one would be difficult and might waste political resources. Tax policymakers, who are already drafting the tax package, are also concerned that dividing the measures in two would increase the cost of extending Trump’s tax cuts and contribute to the deficit, something many Republicans find unacceptable.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by representatives of Thune or Trump’s transition team.
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