Republican lawmakers are gazing at the challenge as President Trump is welcomed by the executive orders and gusts of action to restructure his government. We will change those changes in law at the end.
For now, the GOP majority in Congress is very pleased that Trump will hand over power to the administrative department to test the limitations of his administration.
However, as court agendas and future elections threaten to cancel these actions, these lawmakers are strategizing on how they can be fixed to the law and how to fix them.
Congressmen, the Republican Research Committee (RSC), the largest conservative caucus, have launched the “Set of Stones” initiative to start writing to the law and identifying Trump's policies to pass Congress.
That's not easy. With a few exceptions, they need to clear the 60 vote threshold to advance in the Senate and need support from at least seven Democrats who have no incentives to help Trump secure a legislative victory.
But August Puflugger (R-Texas), chairman of the Republican Research Committee, said this was just the beginning of working with Congressional leadership to identify opportunities.
“We've identified a few bills that we know that some of them are challenging to get the finish line, but we understand that Americans chose Donald Trump to do these kinds of things,” Pfluger said.
These bills include the Demolition Dei Act, led by Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas), to end federal diversity, equity and inclusive practices. The Bassin Citizenship Act, led by Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas), does not provide automatic citizenship to people born to non-citizen parents who do not have permanent residency. Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) bill codified the policy that “stays in Mexico.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) also has a bill to make English the official language of the United States.
“We are seeking quick floor votes in both the House and Senate on these important legislation,” Pfluger said at a press conference. “The new golden age and America are more than just slogans. It's a promise to the Americans.”
But one bill driven by the new initiative exemplifies the challenge of obtaining measures and being codified across the finish line.
Earlier this month, Senate Democrats thwarted the protection of women and girls in sports law led by Rep. Greg Stubu (R-FLA.) and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.).
Republicans hoped that Democrats who softened polls showing support for trans athletes and opposition to women's sports in the wake of the 2024 election would help push the bill through.
But even those facing difficult midterm elections, all Democrats in the upper room voted against the bill.
Still, House GOP leaders are committed to codifying Trump's actions.
“The president already has over 300 executive action so we're going to codify a lot of what he's doing so that the next team can't release it,” speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told a conservative political action conference in February.
Some of these codification activities will be carried out under the regular annual funding bill for fiscal year 2026, or other clawback laws.
Many Hardline Republicans were not satisfied that the recent funding measures passed last week to continue government funding until September 30th did not include a reduction in programs that got x from government efficiency. However, leaders are committed to incorporating some of these major changes into their fundraising process next year.
Meanwhile, the main immediate focus for Congressional Republicans is to create an ambitious package of Trump's priorities in a settlement package that serves as the president's main legislative priority. The law is expected to include Trump's tax cuts and extensions of energy and border priorities.
Unlike the bills the RSC is pushing, its package can bypass the Senate's 60-vote coagulation threshold (also known as the filibuster), but Republicans are using a special settlement process to advance legislation.
Despite the challenge of codifying widespread publicity of Trump's enforcement actions, members of Republican Research Committee press conference Troy Balderson (R-OHIO) have shown that there may be bipartisan support for energy-related laws, including repealing the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean Power Plan 2.0 rules.
But Republicans are also looking for some big wins.
“What we really want to see is speed and aggression and we try to incorporate these into the law,” Pfluger says.
The “Set in Stone” project has support from outside organizations, including Heritage Action, the advocacy arm of a conservative think tank, and from Advance American Freedom, an advocacy organization founded by former Vice President Mike Pence.
