WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Republicans gathered behind closed doors Tuesday to plot the path forward for unified control of the government they won in November’s election, even as Republican senators said afterward a very slim majority in the House will likely determine how far-reaching their policy proposals will be.
Republicans plan to employ the complicated budget reconciliation process to address immigration and energy in one bill before tackling taxes in a separate bill later next year. The details of these measures or their potential policy implications are not yet clear.
This budget reconciliation process will allow the GOP to bypass the 60-vote filibuster in the Senate that typically forces bipartisanship on major issues. Reconciliation is generally used when one party controls the House, Senate and White House because it requires a majority vote in each chamber.
But with Republicans likely to hold only 220 or 221 seats in the House during the upcoming session of Congress, there will be very little room for Republican lawmakers in that chamber to vote against the reconciliation bills since Democrats are unlikely to be included in the negotiations or vote for the final versions.
The last time Republicans held unified control of Congress and the White House in 2017, when they passed their tax package via reconciliation, they had 241 seats in the House, a significantly larger margin than the next year.
Thune says options have been presented
South Dakota Sen. John Thune, who will become majority leader in January, said lawmakers are considering “how we can best maximize the opportunities we have through reconciliation to achieve many of the president’s goals and things and our goals.” to achieve what he was committed to.”
“And, you know, there is of course the tax question, but we have until the end of the year for that,” said Thune, referring to the year 2025. “So the question is how we can take advantage of the opportunity.” Reconciliation.
“That’s why we have presented several options for all of our members to consider. And so in the end we’ll see where it ends up, but we need to work with the House of Representatives and obviously with the recent President Trump to find the best path forward.”
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said Republicans still have a lot of work to do to hammer out the details of the two packages, given the tight margins for passage.
“When you look at the priorities of one end of the spectrum for the House caucus and the other end on the border, there has to be some reconciliation before reconciliation, pun intended,” Tillis said.
House Republican leaders have struggled at times during this Congress to get both centrist GOP lawmakers and far-right members to support major policy bills. Introducing proposals or amendments from one side often resulted in the GOP losing votes from the other side, forcing leaders to constantly walk a metaphorical tightrope when crafting legislation.
Republicans could have a narrower majority in the House of Representatives in the next Congress, likely creating headaches for leadership as they engage in “family discussions” over reconciliation legislation.
Johnson stops by the Republican meeting in the Senate
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., attended the Senate Republican session as the two chambers work to stay on the same page heading into January .
“I think we’re pretty much in agreement about where we want to go. It’s just getting started,” she said. “You know, the devil is in the details.”
Capito, who will become chairman of the Republican Policy Committee next year, said the election results sent a clear message to Republicans about what policy changes Americans expect in the next two years.
“What voters are telling us is in some ways very clear,” Capito said. “And we can go through the clearest ones first.”
Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who will become the first Republican woman to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee next year, warned that the reconciliation process requires a lot of coordination and planning.
“Reconciliation is extremely complex, as those of us who have experienced it know,” Collins said. “And I think we’re going to have a very busy start to the year, which is why I’d like to see the disaster allowance pass before we head out here for Christmas.
“And I would still argue that it would be significant to try to get the FY25 budget bills done. I realize at this point it will take until January. But I still hope we don’t go into March, because with reconciliation stalled and also the president’s recent budget, due on the first Monday in February, looming, there will be a lot of work to be done. “
Delayed spending bills
Congress was supposed to complete work on a dozen annual government funding bills by Oct. 1, but instead relied on an emergency budget bill to extend the deadline to Dec. 20.
With no real progress on full-year bills, congressional leaders are now debating how long a second continuing resolution should last.
Work on the appropriations is likely to pile up early next year, overlapping with Republican efforts to push through their first reconciliation package before moving on to the second.
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley said he is confident that GOP leaders in the House will be able to get the votes needed in another razor-thin majority to approve the two reconciliation packages next year.
“We need to show that we recognize the mandate of the last election and have something smaller and more powerful before we move on to the big issues,” Grassley said.
House Republicans, he said, “know there is a mandate to be fulfilled. And they know they can deliver better.”
“We have a directive from the American people”
Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt said Johnson will be able to hold together the centrist and far-right members of the House Republican Conference as details emerge in the coming weeks and months about exactly how the two reconciliation packages change policy become.
“We know we have a slim majority in the House of Representatives, but Speaker Johnson is aware of that,” Britt said. “And I think they will solve the problems there because we know that we have an instruction from the American people to actually get things done. And I think that’s what we agree on.”
Asked about Republicans’ narrow margins, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson said, “Hopefully these are all things we can reach consensus on.”
“That is President Trump’s goal, and of course we will try to push through his agenda,” he said.
Arkansas Republican Sen. John Boozman said their timeline is “as quickly as possible” but they will have to wait.
“A lot is going to happen, but the budget is the most important thing – we need to do this to start the process and do it as quickly as possible,” Boozman said.
Congress must pass a budget resolution to begin the reconciliation process. This tax and spending bill is not a bill and will not become law. Instead, it sets Congress’ goals for the 10-year budget window.
To actually fund departments and agencies, Congress must pass a dozen budget bills that it has largely ignored in recent months.
Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report.
Last updated on December 3, 2024 at 6:10 p.m
