House and Senate leaders left a meeting at the White House on Tuesday with varying levels of optimism about their ability to combine plans for a major overhaul of conservative policy into a single bill.
“The reason the president talked about this big, beautiful bill, and the reason we're talking about it, is that it's the most efficient and effective way to get it done,” said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana). That's because it's a practical method.” Fox News' Sean Hannity after the meeting.
“We have a bill moving forward in the House,” House Minority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) told reporters.
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Republicans still don't necessarily agree on budget reconciliation. (Reuters)
“We have held numerous briefings for our members, and we have also discussed this with President Trump,” Scalise said. “When you look at what gives us the best path to success, securing our borders, lowering energy costs, having a stable tax system rather than increasing taxes, these are all things we want. One bill is the best way to go.”
However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (Democratic), who has advocated a two-bill approach, expressed hope when asked about Scalise's comments.
“I think the discussion is always based on the premise of what we can achieve. Naturally, we are all interested in reaching the same destination,” Thun told reporters. Ta. “There's a lot of work to do, and part of it is just figuring out how to direct it and what's the best way to get all these results.”
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Sen. John Thune previously announced his intentions for two bills. (Getty Images)
A Senate Republican leadership official pushed back on House leadership's suggestion that joint discussions resulted in general agreement on a single-bill approach. Many Senate Republicans continue to insist that two reconciliation bills are preferable, even after President Trump's meeting with Senate Republicans earlier this month.
Addressing the debt limit, California wildfire aid and the March 14 deadline for federal funding were also on the agenda at Tuesday's meeting.
The sit-in comes as Congressional Republicans prepare for a major overhaul of conservative policy through the budget reconciliation process. Lowering the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to 51 votes would allow the party that controls Congress and the White House to pass far-reaching policy changes conditional on addressing the budget and other fiscal issues. Become.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson supports a single-bill approach. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images)
Republican lawmakers are using the settlement to pass sweeping measures on border security, government spending, defense and energy, and to extend President Trump's 2017 tax cuts, but several key provisions of the bill: will expire at the end of this year.
Supporters of the two-bill approach, including Mr. Thune and the House Freedom Caucus, argue that by breaking down priorities into separate bills, Republicans can score early wins on issues like border security and energy, and generally They argue that it will foster division within the Republican Party. , you can spend more time on complex issues like taxes.
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Newt Gingrich served as the 50th Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1995 to 1998. (Javin Botsford/The Washington Post)
Among the plan's critics are members of the House Ways and Means Committee, who say the complex political maneuvering required for reconciliation would make passing the two bills impossible, given the narrow Republican margin in Congress. It warns that this may happen.
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“The last time we had two seats was when Newt Gingrich was speaker. He had a much larger majority. That was in 1997. We have a one-seat majority.” , committee member Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (RN.Y.) told reporters this month. .
Scalise said Tuesday that Congress aims to have a settlement on President Trump's desk by the spring.
