By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President-elect Donald Trump and U.S. Senate Republicans spent practically two hours in a closed-door assembly about his upcoming agenda on Wednesday, however emerged with no clear path for enacting his plan to chop taxes, enhance fossil gasoline manufacturing and deport tens of millions of undocumented immigrants.
Trump, in his first go to to the U.S. Capitol since his supporters stormed the constructing on Jan. 6, 2021, held a wide-ranging dialogue that touched on his Cupboard nominees, the Panama Canal, oil drilling in Alaska in addition to his legislative agenda.
With solely slim majorities within the Senate and Home of Representatives, Republicans within the two chambers have clashed over whether or not to enact Trump’s tax, border, power and navy priorities in a single piece of laws or two.
Senate Republicans need to break Trump’s agenda into two payments, permitting them to notch a fast success on border and power coverage earlier than turning to the thornier matter of taxes. Home Republicans warn that their slim margin of management runs the danger of failing to go a second invoice to increase Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which expire on the finish of the 12 months.
“There’s a lot of talk about two, and there’s a lot of talk about one. But it doesn’t matter. The end result is the same. We’re going to get something done,” Trump advised reporters after the assembly.
The absence of readability inspired some Senate Republicans to examine a legislative “horse race” in opposition to the Home.
“We all want to get all of it done. And if we can advance into two bills, and it looks like that’s moving better, that’s a horse race,” Senator John Hoeven advised reporters.
Senate Majority Chief John Thune advised reporters that the Senate stands prepared to start shifting ahead with its personal laws however needs to offer Home Republicans time to foster unity inside their generally fractious ranks.
“It’s an ongoing conversation. I’ll put it that way,” Thune mentioned.
On Friday, the president-elect is because of start three days of conferences with Home Republicans at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
Legislative Maneuver
Republicans may also must grapple with methods to offset the results of contemporary tax cuts on the nation’s rising $36 trillion debt.
In a doable signal of issues to return, Trump needed to intervene within the Home final week when Speaker Mike Johnson initially fell in need of the votes wanted for reelection to his high publish. After practically two hours of negotiations, a name from Trump helped sway two hardline Republican opponents to alter their positions and help Johnson.
“President Trump gets MVP status for solving the speaker vote. And we’re going to need him to play MVP on getting these bills done. Just common sense,” Senator Thom Tillis advised reporters earlier than Wednesday’s assembly.
Republicans intend to go Trump’s agenda by utilizing a fancy legislative maneuver that might permit them to bypass Senate Democratic opposition. Republicans’ 53-47 majority within the Senate is simply too slim to in any other case overcome the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster for many laws.
Within the Home, a 219-seat majority is anticipated to dwindle to 217-215 after Trump takes workplace in lower than two weeks. Two Home Republicans are poised to go away Congress and be a part of his administration. Â
Trump was anticipated to satisfy on Friday with members of the ultraconservative Home Freedom Caucus. Lawmakers and aides mentioned he would additionally meet with committee chairs on Saturday and with different Home Republicans on Sunday.Â
U.S. Consultant Ralph Norman, a Freedom Caucus member and one of many two Republican holdouts who Trump persuaded to help Johnson final week, mentioned he intends to ask Trump to make use of his leverage to again aggressive spending reductions that might assist compensate for the next federal debt ceiling.
U.S. Consultant Dan Crenshaw, who will meet with Trump on Sunday, sees the discussions as a beginning gun for the president-elect’s second-term engagement with Capitol Hill.
“Trump has a history of being the most involved president with members of Congress,” Crenshaw mentioned. “And so this is just the beginning of it.”
Some Republicans cautioned that Trump might overplay his hand if he takes too robust a job in legislative negotiations.Â
“We’re independent. I mean, we’re a co-equal branch of government. Sometimes we forget that the president doesn’t rule over the Senate and the House. I think that was the mistake that he learned the first time,” mentioned U.S. Consultant Kevin Hern, who chairs the Republican Coverage Committee within the Home.
Hern mentioned he could be among the many lawmakers who meet with Trump on Sunday.
