‘I’m open to either way’
President-elect Donald Trump backtracked slightly Monday after insisting that Congress should shove his major legislative objectives into “one big, beautiful bill.”
Trump, 78, told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt that he was open to crafting two separate measures on topics including taxation, border security and energy — provided the Republican-held House and Senate can approve them in a timely manner.
“While I favor one bill, I also want to get everything passed. And there are some people that don’t agree with us, I’m open to that also. My preference is one big, beautiful bill,” Trump explained.
“Now, to do that takes longer … it’s a longer process. I would say I’d live with that … To me it’s just cleaner, it’s nicer. That being said, we’d get some border work done a little bit earlier,” the president-elect added. “I’m open to either way as long as we get something passed as quickly as possible.”
Trump and GOP leaders in Congress have been mapping out a suite of reforms to border security, national defense and tax policy.
However, they are forced to grapple with slim majorities in both chambers — as well as a vocal renegade faction in the House.
The game plan
Republicans begin the 119th Congress with 53 Senate seats, below the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome the filibuster for most legislation.
To get around the procedural hurdle and enact most of the legislation Trump wants, Republicans will need to rely on a technical and time-consuming process known as budget reconciliation.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has favored a two-track approach, with a package of border security, defense and energy reforms that will go to Trump’s desk first.
Then later in the year, Republicans would pass a second bill extending the 2017 tax cuts and enacting other reforms, including removing levies on tips.
Proponents of the two-track approach have contended that it will enable Trump to get a jump on shoring up the southern border following four years of nearly unchecked migration — though the president-elect appeared to downplay the urgency of the legislative fix Monday.
“We have money. We don’t need it desperately immediately,” Trump told Hewitt. “I can just say this, the border is going to be secure. We’re going to start it immediately. [Border czar] Tom Homan is central casting.”
In the House, Republicans have 219 seats compared to 215 Democratic seats, making the fate of Trump’s agenda even more finely poised.
In an effort to limit potentially troublesome votes, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and top GOP tax writer Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) want all of those reforms tucked into one monster bill.
“No one’s going to love every element of a large package like that,” Johnson explained on Fox News Channel’s “Sunday Morning Futures.”
“But there will be enough elements in there to pull everyone along.”
On Saturday, Johnson and House Republicans huddled at Fort McNair, Md., with the speaker claiming that the president-elect favors the one-and-done approach.
Johnson has also tried to shore up support for the “big, beautiful bill” by arguing it could also address the debt ceiling, which went back into effect Jan. 1.
The first 100 days
Johnson has said publicly that he believes House Republicans can shove through a mammoth measure by early April — within the 100-day mark of a second Trump administration.
Over the weekend, the speaker suggested April 3 as a target date for a final vote on the legislation, with Memorial Day a “worst-case scenario.”
However, Congress must also contend with a March 14 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown after Johnson managed to keep the lights on in the lame-duck session with Democratic support — and some Republicans fear another spending fight would use up vital time that could be spent getting Trump’s plan on paper.
What reforms are Republicans planning?
Republicans want to extend the 2017 tax cuts, key provisions of which are set to expire later this year. Doing so could add some $3.59 trillion to the deficit over 10 years accounting for economic growth, the Tax Foundation has projected.
In addition to extending the tax cuts, Trump is keen on making good on some of his 2024 campaign promises, such as no taxes on tips or Social Security checks, and removing the cap on state and local tax deductions — a key feature of his own 2017 legislation.
In addition to spending more money on securing the border and increased domestic energy production and exploration, Thune has indicated that he wants to boost defense spending as part of any major legislation.
A price tag on the Trump agenda has not been provided, though some rumors have suggested the non-tax portions could cost around $100 billion — a number that will likely force some Republican fiscal hawks to swallow hard if and when the time to vote comes.