Johnson tells House GOP Trump wants one reconciliation package
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told House Republicans on Saturday that President-elect Trump wants to pass one reconciliation package, a strategy that runs counter to the two-bill effort several other GOP lawmakers had been pushing for.
Johnson made the announcement during a private House GOP meeting at Fort McNair, five sources in the room told The Hill, as the conference gathered to discuss plans for moving legislation through the budget reconciliation process. The Republican trifecta — taking full control of the White House and both chambers of Congress in the 2024 election — is looking to use it to bypass Democratic opposition and pass many of its priorities.
Johnson told lawmakers that the president-elect wants to pass “one big beautiful bill,” according to two of the sources.
Trump’s stance directly contrasts with the preference of many Republicans up on Capitol Hill, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), who laid out a plan last month that includes two reconciliation packages. The first would focus on border security and defense, and the other centered on extending the Trump-era tax cuts, which have some provisions that are set to expire at the end of 2025.
Additionally, the conservative House Freedom Caucus endorsed the two-track plan in December, writing in a letter to Johnson that the House should move on one package focused on the border, and a second encompassing taxes and other matters.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, reiterated that position as recently as Saturday morning.
“There are a group of us who support breaking it up into two pieces,” Harris told Fox News in an interview. “The first piece, a very small border piece where we give the president the money that he needs to secure our southern border and start deporting illegal, criminal aliens.”
“The president needs some funds now and that’s the quickest way to do it, and that’s the way, again, a group of us think we should do that,” he added later. “Saving the large, big, beautiful bill till the summer because it will take time to iron out.”
Stephen Miller, Trump’s incoming deputy chief of staff for policy, has also endorsed the two-package approach.
Trump’s position, however, does align with that of House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.), who has been adamant that Congress should plan for one reconciliation package, not two, citing previous legislative undertakings and the razor-thin margin Republicans have in this Congress.
“There have not been two reconciliations that have been signed into law in the same year,” Smith said last month. “And why would we think in a majority of 219 to 215 that we would over perform?”
Emily Brooks contributed.