Fox News host Maria Bartiromo pressed Representative Byron Donalds, a Florida Republican, on Sunday about President-elect Donald Trump's plan to consolidate his legislative agenda into "one big beautiful" reconciliation bill, asking if it's "really realistic."
Newsweek has reached out to Donalds' office and Trump's transition team via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Trump has made it clear that he believes the best way forward is to wrangle all budgetary concerns into a single reconciliation bill that focuses on border security, defense, and energy rather than pursuing the two-bill strategy previously planned by Republican leadership.
However, there are differing opinions within the GOP about how to move forward with the incoming Trump administration's agenda and with Republicans only having a razor-thin majority in the House and Senate, any dissent could cause problems for Trump's agenda as he gears up to take office later this month.
What Is the Reconciliation Bill?
Reconciliation is the process that allows Congress to quickly advance a bill using a simple majority as long as the bill meets certain criteria, mainly that the scope is limited votes on taxes, spending and the debt limit that only requires a simple majority vote in the Senate rather than the normal 60 votes (i.e. a two-thirds majority). With the Republican Party having thin margins in both chambers of Congress, reconciliation is a way for them to advance the agenda within its limited resources.
Newly elected Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, had originally proposed a two-phase approach: an initial reconciliation bill focusing on border security, defense, and energy within the first 30 days of the new Trump administration, followed by a separate bill later in the year addressing the extension of 2017 tax cuts set to expire in 2025.
House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican, has emerged as a key advocate for the single-package approach, demonstrated by his decision to remain at Mar-a-Lago after New Year's Eve celebrations for reconciliation strategy meetings, according to two Republicans who spoke with Politico.
What To Know
In a Sunday Fox News interview on Sunday Morning Futures With Maria Bartiromo, Bartiromo spoke to the congressman about the dynamics of the reconciliation bill including tax policy and asked, "Is this really realistic that you can get this done?"
Donalds, a staunch Trump ally, responded that a tax policy package could be assembled relatively quickly, stating that "most of it is going to reauthorize Trump's tax cuts."
"We already know what it is, so putting that into this vehicle is not going to be overly complex," he said. Even "additives" such as Trump's plan to exempt tips from taxes would not be difficult, the congressman added, pointing to bill language he already compiled with Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican.
Donalds said: "There's going to be a lot of stuff that has to go into this bill. I'm not really going to get caught into if it is one bill or two. I think the job right now is putting together the overall package...So when you put all that stuff together with border security, which is going to be central to all of this just like tax policy, we can deliver it, it's just working through the finer points and details with our colleagues in the House and Senate."
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, also appeared on Sunday Morning Futures and not only reiterated his plan to seek a single reconciliation bill as Trump has directed, but to do so within the first 100 days of the new administration.
"We're targeting a vote in the House," he said. "It may be in the first week of April. Now, everything's got to move in the right sequence, and along the way, I think we're going to keep those trains moving in the right direction and on time."
The House speaker added: "And if that happens, we'll get it, we'll get it out of the House in early April, maybe as soon as April 3, and then move it over to the Senate. That would put that bill on the president's desk for signature by the end of April. That would be fantastic."
April 30 would mark the 100th day of the administration, and passing the bill would mark a significant achievement for the president-elect as he seeks to act upon what he and his allies have called a "clear mandate" from the American voters to pursue his agenda.
What People Are Saying
When asked by Fox News' Maria Bartiromo about the catch-all bill plan, Senator Lindsey Graham said, "I'm very worried that if we don't put border first and get it done, it's going to be a nightmare for our national security. We've got millions of illegal immigrants that President Trump has promised to deport, and he should."
He added: "That cost 100 billion dollars. I'm willing to offset the 100 billion with cuts in other places, but there's no way in hell Democrats are going to give us 100 billion dollars for mass deportation."
House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Sunday Morning Futures when asked whether Trump prefers two bills or one big bill to implement his agenda, "He and I have talked about this quite a bit as you might imagine over the past few months, determining the pros and cons over the two different strategies. I respect Lindsey Graham and all my friends who kind of preferred a two-step strategy...but I think at the end of the day, President Trump is going to prefer as he likes to say, 'one big beautiful bill.'"
He added: "And there's a lot of merit to that because we can put all together, one big up or down vote, which can save the country, quite literally because there are so many elements to it and it will give us a little bit more time to negotiate that and get it right," he added.
Representative Jason Smith told Bartiromo on Fox Business' Mornings with Maria on December 11, "We need a reconciliation bill that has border, energy, permitting and tax. You put all four of those things together, we can deliver on that. In fact, in the House, we have been working for months, Maria, in preparation for this large omnibus bill. We need to deliver this win as early as possible to President Trump."
What Happens Next
The House GOP must now try to adapt its legislative strategy to accommodate Trump's consolidated approach while maintaining party unity. Johnson faces the task of pushing this single package through with a slim Republican majority in the timeline he has now set.
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