House Republicans retreat to Trump’s Miami resort to hash out his agenda

It’s decision time for House Republicans as they gather for their annual policy retreat in Florida this week.

While they are escaping the frigid conditions in Washington, Republicans must still face divisions in their ranks on how to execute President Trump’s ambitious legislative agenda.

In a sign of Trump’s influence over the House GOP, the gathering is taking place at the Trump National Doral just outside Miami — and some GOP members are hoping to catch a round or two of golf on the property.

Trump is expected to speak to the Republicans on Monday evening.

House GOP leaders have already indicated that they will try to move Trump’s legislative agenda — encompassing extension of 2017 tax cuts, energy policy, and border policy — in a single bill through the budget reconciliation process, rather than split it into two pieces as some Republicans had wanted in hopes of delivering some Trump wins faster. 

The special process bypasses the threat of a Democratic filibuster in the Senate but can be used only once or twice in a year — and will need near-unanimous support from the slim House GOP majority.

Balancing the Trump agenda wish list with demands from fiscal hawks for the legislation to be deficit neutral, or even deficit reducing, will be tough.

“We've got a math problem,” Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.), one of those fiscal hawks who is hoping for more than $2 trillion in cuts, said leaving a meeting last week on options for “pay-fors” that can offset the costs of tax cuts and other priorities. “Let's put the math on the board, and let's go about it agency by agency.”

This week’s policy retreat, which starts Monday afternoon and ends Wednesday morning, is slated to have a number of meetings among members about what policies to include in the bill and how to offset their cost.

While members expect the final details will not be complete for weeks, Republicans will soon have to make a decision about the broad topline number expected in their proposal in order to tee up the legislative vehicle for the Trump agenda reconciliation bill. GOP leaders hope to pass that budget resolution by the end of February.

Beyond the reconciliation bill, Republicans also must soon make a decision on how they will tackle raising the debt limit — which Trump is demanding they do without letting Democrats exert any leverage.

Meeting that demand will be tricky, though, as GOP leaders also weigh demands from fiscal hawks who want steep spending cuts as a condition of raising the debt ceiling.

The latest idea being tossed around by Republicans is to include a debt limit increase in a package that pairs regular government funding and wildfire aid, in the hope that the disaster relief would entice enough Democrats to make up for opposition from GOP fiscal hawks. That comes after an initial plan to include a debt ceiling in the reconciliation bill, which added yet another layer of complication to the already-ambitious legislation.

But asked Thursday if Democrats could support a debt ceiling hike attached to California wildfire aid, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said: “It’s a nonstarter.”

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told The Hill last week that the decision on how to handle the debt limit could be made at this week’s retreat.

“There are a number of ideas on the table we’re talking about,” Johnson said when asked if leaders plan to address the debt limit through reconciliation or attach it to wildfire aid. “We’re taking all the House Republicans to a big retreat early next week down in Florida, and we’ll finalize all those decisions.”

Aris Folley contributed.