House Republican leadership is putting pressure on their Senate counterparts over the budget resolution to unlock reconciliation, a process to codify President Donald Trump‘s agenda that the GOP is insistent on passing in the president’s first two years.
In a statement, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), Whip Tom Emmer (R-MN), GOP Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-MI), and relevant House committee chairmen called on the Senate to “do its part” and pass the lower chamber’s resolution that calls for “one big, beautiful bill” targeting immigration, energy, the economy, and extending tax credits.
“We took the first step to accomplish that by passing the budget resolution weeks ago, and we look forward to the Senate joining us in this commitment to ensure we enact President Trump’s full agenda as quickly as possible,” the leaders wrote, asking the upper chamber to take up the House’s resolution when they come back to Washington, D.C.
The House passed its resolution in late February, which calls for up to $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and up to $2 trillion in spending cuts, as well as a $4 trillion debt ceiling increase. The Senate’s, however, is a two-bill framework that authorizes some $340 billion for border security and defense, with GOP leaders calling for tax cuts later down the road.
However, Republicans such as Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) are insistent on renewing the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act as soon as possible, as the legislation expires at the end of the year.
Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), as well as House and Senate Republican committee chairpeople, are scheduled Tuesday to meet to hammer out details on how to combine the ideas of the two chambers’ reconciliation processes.
For Republicans, reconciliation is a chance to codify Trump’s campaign promises — something that may feel like deja vu after the president’s first term, when Republican majorities used reconciliation to pass the 2017 tax cuts.
Trump and GOP lawmakers also attempted to use reconciliation to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but the late Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain famously killed the effort with his late-night “no” vote. The last three presidencies have used reconciliation, which allows lawmakers to bypass the Senate’s 60-member filibuster to pass a signature piece of legislation within the first two years.
Hanging over Republicans as they move forward with reconciliation is the threat to Medicaid. The Congressional Budget Office, a nonpartisan group, released a memo noting the $880 billion in proposed Energy and Commerce Committee cuts run right through the healthcare beneficiary program. This has given Democrats a strong messaging opportunity over the last few weeks, as lawmakers are trying to hammer down that the GOP wants to cut Medicaid and other programs, such as Social Security.
But GOP leadership has consistently brushed off Democrats’ claims that Medicaid is on the chopping block as “hysteria,” pointing to the language of the budget resolution and arguing the bill’s text does not specifically mention Medicaid, Social Security, or Medicare.
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How smooth the budget process will be after Congress agrees on a framework remains to be seen. Johnson holds a razor-thin majority with recent deaths and vacancies, and with all seats filled, he can only afford to lose two or three Republicans on a given piece of legislation to pass it along party lines.
Several hard-line conservatives got behind the budget resolution after long battles with leadership over cuts, but many have indicated that they want to see the promises kept when it comes in the form of physical legislation. Eyes will be on key voices like Reps. Chip Roy (R-TX) and Ralph Norman (R-SC), as well as leadership, to see whether the camaraderie over the last few weeks will continue or fracture over spending, as it has in the past.