House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) said Tuesday that Republican leaders have agreed to move President Trump's legislative agenda into one sweeping bill, with top Republican lawmakers joining the president at the White House. He shared this development with reporters after gathering.
Mr. Scalise's announcement comes after weeks of debate over how to implement Mr. Trump's list of legislative wishes, including Majority Leader John Thune, R.S. Several senators are pushing to push two of Trump's priorities through the budget reconciliation process instead of one. , hopes that some of the president's agenda will be enacted more quickly. Meanwhile, House leaders support a single bill, and President Trump has said they have a similar desire.
“We have a bill moving forward,” Scalise told reporters after returning to the Capitol from the White House.
Asked if that was a deal and if the Senate agreed, Scalise said, “Yes.”
He later added, “We are in the process of reconciling one bill. We have made that clear.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), who also attended the White House meeting, was more modest, telling reporters that leaders had come up with a “pretty well-thought-out plan” without getting into details.
“We have a pretty good plan in place right now, but I'm not going to tell you all the details yet because that's not how this works. But the party is working in unison. , the leaders of both chambers are working bicamerally, and the president is all working together,” Johnson said after returning to the Capitol.
Asked if Thune had agreed to any of the bills, Johnson told reporters: “I'm not going to talk about our discussions, but we have a strategy that we're all working on.” .
“It's going to be bicameral, and I'm very excited about that,” the Speaker added.
When asked if a conclusion has been reached, President Trump echoed Prime Minister Johnson and told reporters, “I think we're in a good place right now, for the most part.''
Tuesday's meeting was the first formal meeting for Washington's three Republican parties, which solidified after President Trump's inauguration on Monday. Johnson said he and Thune met with Trump and Vice President Vance in the Oval Office, then with other leaders of both chambers in the Cabinet room.
He said he met with Trump, Thune and Vance to “discuss the strategy and priorities of Congress and where we are and where we are going.” “It's a great spirit of unity. I can tell you the Republican Party is united and excited.”
The meeting comes as Republicans struggle with their supermajority in the House of Representatives and as lawmakers work to advance President Trump's policies through reconciliation on an ambitious timeline.
Bills passed under the budget reconciliation rule cannot be filibustered in the Senate, but the rule only applies a limited number of times per year.
Scalise said he was still considering the same timeline that Republican leaders had previously unveiled. That means passing a budget resolution in February to begin the budget reconciliation process, having committees begin drafting in March, and getting the bill across the finish line by Easter.
“President Trump is ready,” Scalise said. “This is day one. He's already met with Congressional leadership and he's ready.”
But how to tackle raising the debt ceiling, how much to raise the cap on state and local tax deductions, and how to make the overall package budget neutral, as some hard-line Republicans are demanding. Some thorny issues remain.
Separately, a March 14 federal funding deadline is approaching, and Congress may have to consider disaster aid to California in the wake of the Golden State's devastating wildfires. Highly sexual.
In comments to reporters after meeting with Congressional leaders, President Trump brought up the federal relief needed after the Los Angeles wildfires, claiming it made it easier for Republicans to negotiate and calling the city of Los Angeles ” “I'll take care of you,” he promised.
“Los Angeles is going to need a lot of money, so we've simplified it in a way. Generally speaking, we're going to have a lot of Democrats coming to us for help, so maybe it's more one-sided.” I think it will be,” he said. “We're going to protect Los Angeles.”
President Trump last week said he would include federal aid for Los Angeles as part of a larger settlement package, suggesting it could win over some Democratic votes.
But it is highly unlikely that Republicans will include wildfire aid in President Trump's priority legislation. Some Republicans have advocated pairing wildfire aid with raising the debt ceiling and regular government funding to attract Democratic votes.
Even if aid to California were combined with President Trump's settlement proposal, Democrats are unlikely to support the bill. This is because the bill contains many provisions that they dislike.
Scalise said leaders have not yet decided how to address the borrowing limits, whether they should be included in a reconciliation bill or combined with another measure, but it is possible they could be included in a government funding bill. He said that there is. He also said Congressional leaders are awaiting a formal request for California disaster relief from the Trump administration.
In his second meeting with a broader group of Republican leaders, President Trump emphasized the need for the Republican Party to remain united as they contest a narrow majority, giving House Republican leaders a near-improbable chance of soon There will be no room for this.
“It was more like, let's work together, let's get something done,” said Rep. Blake More (R-Utah), vice speaker of the House of Representatives.
