President-elect Donald Trump is pushing for one reconciliation bill that will include his border, energy, and tax policy priorities, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Republicans in a closed-door meeting on Saturday, according to a report.
The move sets up a contentious vote as Trump attempts to cram his ambitious agenda into one piece of legislation ahead of his inauguration on Jan. 20, which is at odds with some House and Senate Republican leadership.
House and Senate Republicans in late December endorsed a two-step approach to enact Trump’s agenda early next Congress, ensuring a border security-focused reconciliation bill is prioritized in January 2025, followed by tax legislation.
House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris (R-MD) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) sent a letter in mid-December to now-Senate Republican Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Johnson that stressed the need to prioritize the prompt passage of a border security-focused reconciliation bill at the beginning of the 119th Congress. They also mentioned a second bill that would extend the Trump administration tax cuts while “including necessary spending reforms and cuts.”
Thune also suggested to colleagues that Republicans should focus their first reconciliation resolution on border funding, energy production, and defense spending while leaving tax-related measures for a second piece of legislation later in the year.
But behind the scenes, Trump is pushing for one package given the tight speaker’s race, which saw Johnson secure the gavel in the first round of votes on Friday, that could make maneuvering both bills more complicated on top of an already difficult situation in the House.
Harris opposed the two-to-one bill transition and broke with the majority of the GOP and did not initially vote for Johnson to lead the chamber over the next two years.
Meanwhile, others in the House, including Ways and Means Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO), who endorsed a single bill from the start, has long championed one single package.
“It shows the best and quickest approach to deliver for President Trump is one beautiful, big package,” Smith said in December.
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Initially, the first reconciliation bill would have included funding to complete the border wall, hire thousands of federal law enforcement at U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, increased immigration detention space, encouraged self-deportation of illegal immigrants in the United States, and more.
The lawmakers said the second budget reconciliation should focus on preventing the massive tax increase that automatically takes effect on Jan. 1, 2026, if lawmakers do not renew Trump’s first-term tax cuts.
