Members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus say the final They continue to resist, arguing that the product is more important than the composition.
The Freedom Caucus' board sent a letter to Johnson last month supporting a two-bill strategy for reconciliation, which would allow Republicans to pass Trump's priorities without Democratic votes. It is a procedural ploy to do so. They called for a border-focused package in January, followed by a second, larger measure that included tax and energy policy. This position is consistent with that of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R.S.D.), who has advocated a two-bill policy.
But weeks later, Prime Minister Johnson is pushing for a single broad settlement after Trump said he wanted “one strong bill.” The president-elect has reiterated that stance numerous times since then, while still leaving the door open to passage of two bills.
Mr. Johnson's strategy runs counter to the wishes of the Freedom Caucus. The Freedom Caucus has a track record of becoming a thorn in the leadership's side when its wishes aren't prioritized, inspiring top lawmakers to revolt and sometimes bringing the House to a standstill. But this time, the hardline conservatives scheduled to meet with President Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday are holding their ground and echoing the speaker's dramatic call.
“You don't have much time. All we're facing is President Trump has 12, 13 months left to live. It's about what we can pass and get involved,” said Freedom Caucus member. , said Congressman Ralph Norman (R.S.C.). “At the end of the day, if they do one, I'd rather have two, but if they do one and it's substantial, I'm fine with it. ”
Another conservative member, Rep. Ben Klain (R-Va.), echoed similar sentiments, citing President Trump's preference for a single policy.
“It's up to the president, and the president had one preference, so the chairman is taking direction from the president and moving forward with one plan. If the president doesn't direct us in a different direction, we will move in that direction.” I intend to continue on this path,” Klein said. “Each member will have their own position, but that's fine with me at this point.”
Hardline Republicans say their main concerns are how the bill will be put together and what policies it will include, rather than strategy. Conservatives have been pushing for an open, lawmaker-led legislative process to implement President Trump's policies, a demand they made in the lead-up to last week's speaker election.
“I don't care what it takes to accomplish the president's agenda. I think what's important is the details of the entire proposal, what the construction looks like,” said a Freedom Caucus member and close friend of Trump. said ally Rep. Byron Donald (R-Fla.). “What matters is the end result, everything else is just preference.”
“If we can achieve the agenda we have all campaigned for, everyone will be happy, whether you are or not.” [House Freedom Caucus] or [Problem Solvers Caucus]” he added.
“It's all in the details, especially cuts and offsets,” said Norman, who voted against House Speaker Johnson last week and later changed his vote to support him.
In a letter to House Republicans last week, shortly after Mr. Johnson took the speaker's gavel, members of the Freedom Caucus board announced a series of bills they called for in the 119th Congress, including spending cuts. made a request. A group of 11 hardliners said they supported Mr Johnson's appointment to the top job despite having “reservations” about his leadership record.
“Under the rules, there is always room to negotiate the so-called ‘leader’ position. In the meantime, our election certificate remains equal,” they wrote. “We can argue about character later, but right now there is no margin for error about the policies that the American people called for when they voted for President Trump – the policies needed to save our country.”
“We call on the House of Commons to implement it quickly,” they added.
Republicans on Capitol Hill have been debating for weeks a strategy for reconciliation, a budget process that allows the party with full control in Washington to bypass opposition from across the aisle.
Thune, the new Senate majority leader, sponsored two bills in early December, hoping to secure early wins on the border before working to extend Trump's 2017 tax cuts. However, this is likely to be a more difficult undertaking. .
Meanwhile, Rep. Jason Smith (R-Missouri), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, has publicly supported passage of a single bill. Single-track supporters argued that it was easier for a bill to pass a small Republican majority because it had more provisions in favor of than some that some members might oppose.
Prime Minister Johnson reiterated on Tuesday that the House of Commons would side with Smith, not Thune or other members of the Freedom Caucus, to advance the bill.
“We remain convinced that a one-bill strategy is the best way forward,” Johnson said. “I think we're going to unite both chambers around the same strategy, and I think we still want to put together a big, beautiful bill, as the president likes to say, and there's a lot of benefit to that. ”
Meanwhile, President Trump has said multiple times that he prefers a single bill, but he also has reservations about the possibility of two bills. At a news conference Tuesday, the president-elect said, “I love one big, beautiful bill, always have been, always will be,” before adding: You can quickly complete immigration procedures. ”
Members of the Freedom Caucus are scheduled to visit Mar-a-Lago with President Trump on Friday as part of a series of meetings the president-elect is having with diverse House Republicans. One member of the group planning to attend the meeting told The Hill they want to hear from the president-elect “how we can best help implement President Trump's policies.”
While Prime Minister Boris Johnson is pushing for a single bill, some hardliners believe that a two-bill plan will ultimately be used as a strategy. Representative Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), a member of the Freedom Caucus, said Republican leaders struggled to squeeze all of their priorities into a single bill and ultimately moved to a two-track approach. I predicted that it would.
“When you start prioritizing what you want to get done and how fast you want it done, a two-bill solution becomes a reality, because the bigger the scale, the more complex the time it takes to get it done. ,” Ogles told The Hill. “It makes sense for them to go in a certain direction, but if they hit an obstacle and have to adapt, they always have that opportunity.”
Contributed by Emily Brooks.
