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President-elect Trump noted a strategic benefit of the single bill approach to budget reconciliation which he said he prefers during a closed-door meeting with Republican senators Wednesday night at the Capitol.
Combining the legislation relating to both the southern border crisis and taxes in a reconciliation bill, Trump suggested that one issue could potentially force some lawmakers to make a difficult decision. For example, if a Republican does not support part of the tax component, they would also have to vote against the border provisions because they are in a single measure.
Trump explained a strategic component of his one-bill reconciliation approach. (Getty Images)
With lots of Trump Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 which expires this year, the party seeks to act quickly. But the tax debate in 2025 is expected to be more divided among Republicans than the border debate. In particular, there is some disagreement in the party over state and local tax (SALT) deductions, which may benefit some states more than others and which some Republicans have considered inefficient.
“If someone, for example, in the House resists because there is no SALT in the tax deal or some other provision that they want, if that also means that they will resist and vote against the border, it could make it more difficult for them to do so. “Sen. John Hoeven, R.N.D., told Fox News Digital. “That’s a very valid point.”
While Trump himself did not raise SALT as an example of this, a Republican senator did mention it in a side conversation among other attendees as they discussed the merits of a single-bill approach, Hoeven said.
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Sen. John Hoeven, R.N.D., speaks May 4, 2022, at the Capitol in Washington. Hoeven faces a defector from his own party and a cash-strapped Democrat on Tuesday, Nov. 8 in his race for a third term in the U.S. Senate from North Dakota. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)
A source familiar told Fox News that Republicans are preparing to follow Trump’s preference for a single bill, but are also keeping in their back pocket the possibility of introducing two bills, one on the border and another to address taxes, in case of any significant change. obstacles.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Trump that if a bill is what he wanted, that’s what they’ll try first, the source said.
Several senators have their own preferences for two separate reconciliation bills, and some made their arguments to Trump during the meeting. However, the conference will move forward with Trump’s single-bill approach.
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Thune was “adamant” about supporting Trump’s agenda as a leader, one senator said. (Reuters)
Greenland, Canada and the Panama Canal came up during the discussion following Trump’s comments about each of them. Trump has recently said he wants the United States to regain control of a critical trade facility, the Panama Canal, while also expressing interest in Greenland and Canada becoming part of the United States.
Sources familiar told Fox News that Trump brought up these issues during the meeting and at one point told senators that these countries “were screwing” the United States.
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks to media outside Rideau Cottage on Monday, Jan. 6 in Ottawa. (AP/Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)
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Several Republican senators took the opportunity to tell Trump that his comments about Canada were “transformative,” the sources said.
The senators believe that his attitude towards Canada is already changing the country’s “behavior” and could even have contributed to the recent resignation of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, the sources added.
