'Significant complications': Analysis warns effort to rush Senate Trump bill 'tricky'
New incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) announced to his caucus that he wants the first major budget reconciliation bill in the first 30 days of the new Congress, Politico reported.
The 119th Congress is set to begin on Jan. 3, 2025, and President-elect Donald Trump has a long list of big-ticket items he wants to see Republicans approve.
The only bill that cannot be filibustered in the U.S. Senate is the budget, so Republicans intend to use it to fund some of Trump's demands, such as reestablishing his 2017 tax bill, defense, energy, the border, and "other priorities." Anything included in the package must have a greater impact on spending than on policy.
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The one person who can stop something in the bill is the Senate parliamentarian, who can declare a measure "irrelevant to the budget and rule that it can’t be included in a reconciliation deal," the report said.
"While reconciliation would allow Republicans to pass priorities with no Democratic support, bills that pass under the process are often large and tricky to wrangle," said Politico. "GOP leaders could see significant complications given the House’s thin majority and the need to pass muster with the Senate parliamentarian."
House Republican Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) asked for the budget package in the first 100 days.
The GOP could fully fund not only the tax cut but also Trump's mass deportation plan, which is expected to cost nearly $1 trillion over 10 years, according to a report from the American Immigration Council.
Thune also told members he's making big changes to the schedule. First, Senators should expect to work on Fridays and possibly weekends. He also said that they'll no longer hold votes open for hours.