Republicans in both chambers of Congress are competing to see which body can hammer out a deal enacting key tenets of President Donald Trump’s agenda first.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is leading the lower chamber in crafting the “one big, beautiful bill” that includes tax policy, border-related funding, and government spending cuts the president prefers.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is focused on ushering in Trump’s priorities through two bills: an initial smaller one targeting border-affiliated issues followed by more comprehensive legislation later in the year focused on tax breaks.
Senate Republicans are expected to meet with Trump on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida to discuss how the budget deal is shaping up. Johnson and top House GOP leaders had the first opportunity to meet with Trump at the White House Thursday evening to discuss their version of a budget deal, after which the speaker sent a clear message to his colleagues in the upper chamber.
“So our message to our friends and colleagues in the Senate is, allow the House to do its work. We are moving this as quickly and as expeditiously as possible,” he said. “Very positive developments today. We’re really grateful for the president, for leaning in and doing what he does best. And that is put a steady hand at the wheel and get everybody working. And that’s what happened today.”
Trump gave House lawmakers a rundown of what he wanted a final deal to look like at the start of the Thursday meeting and waded into some details before leaving them to debate the nitty gritty of a bill during a nearly five-hour-long session. The president told Johnson his tax priorities include ending taxes on tips, eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits and overtime pay, and renewing his signature 2017 tax cuts that are expiring this year. Tax cuts for “Made in America products” and adjustments to the SALT state and local tax deduction could also be on the agenda.
“What he does a really good job at is: Here’s the end result that I want,” Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI), the House GOP Conference chairwoman, said following the meeting. Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), the chairman of the House Budget Committee, hailed Trump as “the negotiator in chief,” according to the Hill, while House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) said afterward that “the president’s even more involved now in the details because you know you can [only] talk at the 30,000-foot level for so long.”
The House speaker hopes to pass the bill by April. The legislation his caucus is building is shaping up to be a sprawling multitrillion-dollar plan extending $3 trillion in tax cuts, clawing back government spending by rescinding items such as Biden administration-era climate and environmental funding, allocating funding toward targeting illegal immigration and building a wall at the southern border, and boosting oil and gas energy production.
Senate GOP leaders say their smaller initial bill targeting border security and illegal immigration could be approved within the first 30 days of the new administration. Legislation proposed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) targeting those priorities and boosting defense spending would cost roughly $300 billion. A later bill proposal to implement Trump’s tax priorities would come in legislation later in 2025.
Graham, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, announced his panel will begin hearings to launch the process next week. Graham has similarly said his panel will hold hearings on the lower chamber’s budget negotiations next week, perhaps as early as Tuesday.
But while House Republicans want to be first in the race to pass a budget bill, intraparty squabbles over details have stalled the process, leading the Senate GOP to squirm with impatience and urge Trump to crack down on agitators arms to push a deal through.
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“In the end it will take presidential leadership. It will take him twisting arms. He might have to twist them hard,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said, according to the Hill.
Some senators hope that during their Friday meeting with Trump, they can push him to back Thune’s proposal of two bills over Johnson’s proposal of one broader bill.
