Speaker Mike Johnson downplayed the division between the House and Senate on Monday on how to promote President Donald Trump’s agenda. Republican leaders are trying to combine the narrow majority behind the budget plan moving forward with one bill, and the Senate forgets first with its own two-bill strategy.
“I did good things while talking to Lindsey Graham at the President and Suite Super Bowl. He and I are on the same page,” he told CNN.
Graham, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, on Friday gave the military $150 billion and $175 billion for border security, with the intention of increasing domestic energy funding and considering an extension for 2017. We have released building text for the package. Tax reductions for another package. He holds the bill’s markup at the committee on Wednesday.
“There’s no sunlight between us. We all want the exact same thing. We’re working on the best, most effective and efficient way to get there. I’m I continue to believe that is one strategy,” he said. Johnson added that Graham “understands that,” but that the senator “want to move and show some kind of action.”
Graham later said he liked one bill. “But reality is completely different.” He argued that the Department of Homeland Security needs more funds as soon as possible to implement Trump’s border policies, and that waiting to complete a more complex and comprehensive package is unacceptable. .
Pushed by Raju about how the Senate is complicating the process, Johnson replied, “I don’t say it’s useful,” but “We all feel the same urgent feeling. “I’ll do that.”
“What we’re negotiating is to make sure we’re extending the tax cuts and implementing these other big objectives in front of us and to make sure we do that in a way that doesn’t. “It’s complicated. Johnson will add a deficit to increase the country’s debt burden,” he said, listing some of the hurdles that need to be overcome to bring together the thin GOP margins in razors.
Meanwhile, House Freedom Caucus is developing its own budget blueprint for the road ahead, within its standoffs within the House GOP conference. The Caucus wants a two-bill strategy like Senate Republicans, but their bills are very different to that plan, setting yet another complexity in this process.
Their plans say $200 billion in border and defense money (about half the Senate bill), a debt cap of $4 trillion (not the Senate bill), and a $486 billion cut of $286 billion It will reduce to $486 billion. Over 10 years.
This post was updated with details of the House Freedom Caucus plans and comments from Graham. Lauren Fox of CNN contributed a report to this post.
