There for speaking to the reporters, he took a very firm stand on Social Security and Medicare: they will not be cut in any budget or Trump agenda. “The Republican Party is not cutting benefits,” he reiterated, changing course from his clarification of the GOP position on these important programs.
“Well, no, the president has indicated already that there is no cutting involved,” Johnson countered when asked whether there would be any cuts to Social Security and Medicare. It said we have to look at spending but keep fiscal discipline.
Johnson’s words came just before he had to meet with Senate Majority Leader John Thune to strategize about a funding package having to do with reconciliation which is a fast-track legislative process which consist of a simple majority in the Senate, meaning there would not be the pressure of the burden of gathering 60 votes for passing major bills.
Trump’s most important demands would be included in this reconciliation package to extend tax breaks from his first term, boost funding for immigration enforcement, and may include setting a new ceiling on the debt. Johnson underestimated these calls for fiscal restraint, though, because he emphasized that the retiree benefits would not be touched even as they worked on addressing spending issues.
One bill or two? The GOP’s debate
Whether one wants to pursue a single comprehensive piece of legislation or break up Trump’s agenda into two bills, which is a large sticking point in the negotiations. Johnson is all for the “one big, beautiful bill” approach favored by Trump because he believes that it would work the process better since it would all be took in one time instead of trying to get separate bills to unify support within the party.
“I’m meeting today with Leader Thune about the two ideas,” Johnson explained during a press briefing. “We still believe the one-bill strategy is the best way to go, but some senators have different views.”
Speaking to his audience at Mar-a-Lago, Trump said he personally preferred a single bill but also indicated readiness to accept two bills if that would be a comparatively faster route to passage. “I like one big, beautiful bill, and I always have, I always will,” Trump said. “But if two is more certain, it does go a little bit quicker because you can do the immigration stuff early”.
Among Senate Republicans discussing the scenario was Whip John Barrasso, presenting a two-part measure. It establishes that all immediate phenomena would have to be won, such as border security funding, energy restriction lift, among others, while deferring complex tax policy negotiations until later in the year. “It’s about addressing urgency,” Barrasso noted. He said border and national security concerns deserved quicker remedy and would not be taxed until year end.
Uniting the GOP to advance trump’s agenda
Despite those divisions in the areas of strategy, all Republicans have the common goal of fulfilling Trump’s legislative agenda. Johnson stated the importance of unity for the party, especially in the ultra-thin House where a single loss among Republicans can jeopardize a proposal’s passage.
“You package really high priority issues together, and suddenly people will support it even if it has something in it that they don’t like,” Johnson told reporters.
In terms of having half a dozen of the three majority seats occupied by the senators on the Republican side, the Senate allows a little leeway for movement. But senate leaders are working with Trump to keep him on the same page. Barrasso confirmed that Trump would meet with Senate Republicans to refine the reconciliation plan and ensure the two houses are on the same page.
Johnson would add addressing the debt ceiling into that budget reconciliation package to allow Republicans to craft the terms without requiring the assistance of Democrats. “Our mission is to reduce spending meaningfully while raising the debt limit to avoid any appearance of default,” Johnson said.
Moving forward, Johnson stated, Trump’s weekend visit would involve Mar-a-Lago in discussions with House Republicans to further strengthen plans and address any difficulties still in circulation. “He’s bringing in big groups of House Republicans to talk about what’s ahead,” Johnson said. “We’re very excited to work together to accomplish these goals.”
So far, the negotiation process leaves republican fortunes interspersed with a quagmire of difficult balancing-advancing Trump’s great ambitions while healing wounds of fiscal discipline and important benefits such as social security and Medicare.
