Speaker Mike Johnson is actively working to unite his convention behind another Republican-only policy bill forward of the midterms, with members clamoring for extra wins and keen not waste what they fear could possibly be the waning days of their majority.
Despite dealing with certainly one of the smallest House margins in history, Johnson has outlined an awfully aggressive legislative plan for 2026 that, if profitable, Republicans consider may assist protect their fragile maintain on the chamber subsequent yr — and doubtlessly defend the speaker’s personal political survival. And the Louisiana Republican is transferring rapidly, telling NCS he held a “productive” assembly final week with key chairmen and has spoken with Senate GOP Leader John Thune in current days.
“We want to use all the tools that we have in the arsenal. And I’m very bullish, very optimistic. I think we can do something,” he mentioned final week, discussing the prospect of Republicans passing a party-line package under a process known as reconciliation.
Johnson has instructed chairmen to provide you with a menu of concepts they’d like to see in one other GOP financial invoice. But whether or not the invoice is targeted on well being care, tax coverage or additional deficit discount continues to be not clear. And it is going to be troublesome for Johnson to begin cobbling collectively a brand new invoice when he’s nonetheless continually quelling inside fights about GOP priorities on the ground and begging members to present up for votes with no room to spare in their slender margin. Last week alone, GOP leaders misplaced a flooring vote they didn’t even understand was in hassle and had been compelled to pull a number of different measures from their agenda.
Johnson’s agenda 2.0 plan is a long-shot effort that comes with no scarcity of potential downsides for him and for the celebration. Trying and failing — like Republicans did with their Obamacare repeal effort in 2017 forward of Trump’s final midterm — may spotlight GOP ineptitude simply months earlier than the election. And conservatives are already telegraphing they need to see important cuts to a federal funds that moderates are struggling to defend on the marketing campaign path.
“You by no means know ‘til you try,” Texas Republican Rep. Chip Roy said. “If you spend half your time in Congress and half your time running … that’s silly.”
Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio is one other fiscal hawk with massive goals of enacting across-government cuts in the model of the Department of Government Efficiency in the following invoice. But he additionally supplied a actuality verify: “We barely had the votes to defund NPR. I don’t know how aggressively we’ll be able to reform some of the things.”
Many Republicans agree that selecting not to use a legislative software that permits them to go conservative payments with simply their very own celebration’s votes can be a significant waste in a GOP-controlled Congress. But that is the place the settlement ends.
GOP lawmakers acknowledge it is going to be far more troublesome to ship one other bundle after Congress handed Trump’s tax break, spending cuts and immigration invoice final yr. To begin, there isn’t a clear thought of what the invoice would come with. One main faction of House Republicans, often known as the Republican Study Committee, is pushing for housing insurance policies and an growth of well being care financial savings, which they are saying would additionally minimize $1 trillion from the federal deficit. They also have a title: “Making the American Dream Affordable Again.”
“I think we have some really good proposals that leadership is looking at, that’s in line with what the president wants to do, some creative ideas,” the group’s chairman, Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, advised NCS, saying the concepts have huge help among the many American individuals, not simply GOP voters. “I think we’re going to get some Democrats eventually to say, yeah, those are good ideas. … There’s a lot of legislative proposals that truly are 80-20 issues.”
Other conservatives are pushing their Senate colleagues to relitigate a collection of messy fights they already misplaced on items of the primary invoice that had been deemed out of compliance with strict Senate guidelines, resembling immigration coverage.
And there isn’t even consensus on whether or not Johnson ought to try one other party-line push in any respect.
Multiple centrist Republicans advised NCS they’re extra in bipartisan wins and have advised the speaker instantly. Rep. Don Bacon of Nebraska mentioned he would moderately see a bipartisan immigration invoice or a debt fee, including: “I just think it creates a very polarized environment. I think it’s bad to lean on it.”
Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey mentioned he’d moderately the GOP sit down and “really regroup,” after which concentrate on points like well being care that he thinks the celebration has been ignoring.
“I pray to God we don’t do something stupid,” Van Drew mentioned when requested a couple of doable second Trump agenda invoice. “I don’t give a damn how many reconciliation bills you do unless it’s going to have a health care component to it.”
House GOP leaders are conscious of the hurdles. But they’re additionally feeling immense strain from many in their convention, who’ve been pissed off by months of gradual legislating, together with a prolonged shutdown that saved members out of city for 43 days. GOP leaders are additionally pushed to protect the president from being perceived as a lame duck. Many are additionally more and more anxious about their celebration’s destiny in the November elections, as voters warn that Trump isn’t doing sufficient to shore up the economy.
Still, one high Republican, Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma, acknowledged that fears over shedding the House majority isn’t sufficient to unite the convention behind a invoice.
“You still have to get votes. We can’t just deem it as passed. So, if everybody comes along and says, ‘We agree with what’s being put in the bill,’ that would be awesome,” Hern mentioned.
Hern mentioned the most important concern for management shall be: “Do we have enough in there that satisfies everybody?”
And this time, Johnson is coping with a House margin that would require good unity inside his famously unruly convention. The sudden demise of 1 colleague and the abrupt resignation of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene have left the speaker with nearly no room to maneuver — and a particular election in Texas is anticipated to ship one other Democrat to the House in simply two weeks.
There can be no assure that any House effort would have a future in the Senate, the place Thune has had to contend together with his personal unpredictability amongst his convention. That contains Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine who’s now totally entrenched in her reelection battle in a Democratic-leaning state, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska who was a really hard-fought sure vote for Thune the primary time round.
There are additionally considerations that the GOP hasn’t but completed a adequate job of promoting the invoice it handed final yr. There is fear amongst GOP lawmakers that the signature coverage invoice of Trump’s second time period, which the president dubbed the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” has been struggling to land with voters. Johnson and his management group have been repeatedly stressing to their members that they want to higher promote the bundle again house.
Voters, they argue, are nonetheless understanding the impression of the huge piece of laws that included broad tax cuts for Americans in addition to massive modifications to tighten entry to Medicaid and meals stamps that conservatives cheered. The invoice largely prolonged tax cuts Trump handed in his first time period — and displaying voters the advantage of not shedding the tax breaks has been tougher than anticipated to marketing campaign on, some have acknowledged.
Republicans who’re dealing with robust reelection fights are among the many most vocal in pushing for an additional massive Trump bundle, arguing it might assist them to broaden their record of legislative wins.
“I think maybe it would relieve some of President Trump’s frustration with the filibuster and demonstrate we can actually get things done,” mentioned Republican Sen. John Cornyn, who’s in the battle of his political life in a three-way major in Texas.