Trump huddles with Senate Republicans at Capitol to map out legislative agenda
On Wednesday, Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, met with Senate Republicans to discuss the legislative agenda and the political goals of the party.
The Republican Party is united in its broad goals – to secure the border and restore American energy dominance; cut taxes and reign in spending – but they are divided over the best way to achieve their objectives, given the narrow majority of the House and Senate.
The debate revolves around whether all these priorities should be bundled into one bill that would take months to create, or if some border and energy provisions could be moved quickly first.
“We’re comparing the two bills versus one bill. It doesn’t really matter what it is. “We’re going get the results,” Trump told reporters before the meeting. “And we are going to make America Great Again.”
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In the meeting room, Trump reiterated that he prefers “one beautiful, big bill,” just as he has stated in public. He was also open to a two-bill solution when senators pushed him.
Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas Republican) said that he “expressed strongly” to Mr. Trump the idea of securing two victories. The first bill would focus on securing border, rebuilding military, and unleashing American power.
“Why? He said, “Because it unites Republicans and we can pass that.” “We can achieve a major win early on.”
Mr. Cruz stated that the lack of support for an extension and expansion to the Trump tax cuts of 2017 is not the issue, but rather the time needed to put such a bill together and determine the revenue offsets and spending cuts — in Capitol language the “pay-for provisions”.
He said that “every Republican wants to extend tax cuts.” “There is not one Republican who wants to increase taxes by $4 trillion.”
Lindsey Graham (South Carolina Republican) argued for the need to move quickly on a border law first.
He said: “We need to put points on a board, secure our borders and show urgency.”
Mr. Graham chairs the Senate Budget Committee. This will be a crucial role, as Republicans will use budget reconciliation to advance their agenda. They will do this by avoiding a Senate filibuster.
Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota, a Republican, said that Mr. Trump enjoys horse races. He suggested to the president-elect that he let the Senate and House pursue their own approaches, and then pick the one based on the chamber which has produced the most work.
Hoeven stated that when he suggested the horse race he replied, “Well, we’ll see.” He was open, but did not give up his preference for one bill.
After the closed-door session, South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune said that Republicans “are all in agreement with getting the results” and process arguments are “a lot less significant.”
He noted that the Senate GOP is “here to move” as well.
“It is a conversation that continues, but we are all looking for the same outcome,” said Mr. Thune.
The bicameral debate is complicated by the fact the Republicans are able to lose a few votes in each chamber. In the House, the majority is a mere paper thin and in the Senate it is not that much larger.
The Senate Republicans’ priority item, but not the House of Representatives’, is to increase defense spending.
In a speech on the floor earlier Wednesday, Mr. Thune stated that “We are working to improve military readiness which will help restore American power so that we can keep peace and deter our enemies.”
Even though Republicans excluded Democrats from reconciliation, it hasn’t prevented them from expressing themselves.
Charles E. Schumer (New York Democrat) said that it is “obscene”, for Republicans to prioritize an extension of 2017 tax cuts. He called this “a disaster”.
He said that Republicans were preparing to use the reconciliation to give tax breaks to America’s largest corporations and reward the wealthiest Americans.
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