5 months ago
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President-elect Trump said that Republicans are moving to trade a “powerful” portion of authorities to beforehand his agenda.
Republicans had already begun preparing to usage a peculiar process known arsenic fund reconciliation to bypass Democratic absorption successful the Senate to widen expiring provisions successful Trump’s signature 2017 taxation law. But calls person grown successful the enactment successful caller months to usage the maneuver to enact different parts of Trump’s agenda, including borderline security.
Divides person emerged among Republicans implicit however to enactment connected those priorities, including whether a two-package oregon one-package attack is preferable, arsenic enactment faces a gangly task to support the enactment unified down a strategy — peculiarly the constrictive House GOP majority.
Here are immoderate of the ideas that Republicans person floated including.
Tax cuts
Extending cardinal parts of Trump’s signature Tax Cuts and Jobs Act has been a top-of-mind contented for galore legislature Republicans arsenic they illustration retired their reconciliation wishlist.
That includes idiosyncratic provisions that are acceptable to expire aboriginal this year, which, if lapsed, would mean higher income taxation rates for astir earners, a little modular deduction, and a rollback of the headdress connected the authorities and section taxation (SALT) deduction, among different changes.
Republicans person signaled determination could beryllium immoderate added tweaks, with Trump besides reiterating his connection to extremity taxes connected tips.
“Members of Congress are getting to enactment connected 1 almighty Bill that volition bring our Country back, and marque it greater than ever before,” helium wrote connected his Truth Social tract this week. “We indispensable Secure our Border, Unleash American Energy, and Renew the Trump Tax Cuts, which were the largest successful History, but we volition marque it adjacent amended - NO TAX ON TIPS.”
Border security
Border information has besides emerged arsenic a cardinal proviso of immoderate reconciliation measure Republicans effort to pass. But they disagree connected whether to walk it successful 1 bundle with taxation provisions, oregon successful a separate, smaller bundle that tin beryllium done much quickly.
“Delaying borderline information is simply a unsafe idea,” Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said. “If you tin bash it each successful April, possibly it works, but I’m precise leery.”
Republicans person floated backing for border partition construction and further detention beds, though specifics are inactive nether discussion.
Trump, who said connected Tuesday that helium thinks helium was elected “largely due to the fact that of the border,” has indicated helium prefers 1 ample bill, but signaled openness to a two-package approach.
“I similar 1 large beauteous measure and I ever have,” Trump said connected Tuesday. “I ever will, but if 2 is much certain, it does spell a small spot quicker due to the fact that you tin bash the migration stuff.”
Trump additionally voiced enactment for taking enactment connected areas similar vigor and defence arsenic portion of the imaginable package.
His comments travel arsenic immoderate Republicans person besides raised interest implicit however taxation reforms would fare nether the two-pronged fixed the trouble of moving 2 fund reconciliation packages, peculiarly erstwhile considering the party’s slim power successful the House.
Debt limit
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said connected Tuesday that portion of the program is for Republicans to enactment connected the nation’s indebtedness bounds utilizing the reconciliation process.
“The volition is to grip the indebtedness bounds successful reconciliation successful the process, and that way, arsenic the Republican Party, the enactment successful complaint of some chambers, we past get to find the details of that,” Johnson told reporters.
“If it runs done regular bid oregon regular process and arsenic a standalone, oregon arsenic portion of the appropriations, for example, past you person to person some parties negotiating, and we consciousness similar we’re successful amended stead to bash it ourselves,” helium besides said.
Trump antecedently called connected Republicans to enactment connected the nation’s indebtedness ceiling arsenic portion of a bipartisan woody that averted a authorities shutdown successful December. But that effort fell level arsenic Democrats and immoderate conservatives pushed backmost connected the demand.
The enactment retired of powerfulness — which Democrats are this twelvemonth — tin request large concessions successful instrumentality for agreeing to rise the indebtedness limit. Republicans successfully utilized the strategy successful the past Congress to unafraid a woody with President Biden that suspended the indebtedness ceiling done the extremity of 2024, on with caps connected immoderate national spending.
Spending cuts
Republicans person besides discussed the imaginable of a woody to brace a $1.5 trillion summation successful the indebtedness bounds with $2.5 trillion successful spending cuts utilizing fund reconciliation.
At the clip quality broke of the handshake statement past month, Republicans said the absorption of the cuts would beryllium mandatory spending, which besides covers entitlement funding. Democrats seized connected the quality astatine the time, accusing Republicans of wanting to acceptable sights connected Social Security, but the peculiar fund maneuver cannot beryllium utilized to marque changes to the program.
Johnson appeared to regularisation retired Republicans pursuing Medicare cuts arsenic portion of the reconciliation process erstwhile asked by CNN recently.
“No,” the Speaker said, adding Trump “has made precise clear, Social Security and Medicare person to beryllium preserved and we are not, nary 1 is coming successful with the volition of cutting benefits successful immoderate mode oregon anything.”
Al Weaver and Mychael Schnell contributed.
