Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., arrives before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool via REUTERS
Republicans are at odds about the future, with some warning of "false hope," per Politico, as others ignore Donald Trump's funding bill demand to pursue an "unmissable opportunity" to pass more of their agenda.
On Friday, Politico published a report featuring interviews with various Republicans in Congress about the ongoing process of preparing the next government funding bill. Many are keen to repeat the success of last year's "One Big Beautiful Bill": a sweeping "megabill" that contains numerous provisions, passed using a "budget reconciliation" method that allows it to bypass the filibuster. Earlier this month, however, Trump told Fox News that such a bill is not necessary, arguing that last year's bill achieved enough already.
“In theory, we’ve gotten everything passed that we need,” Trump said in an interview with Fox's Larry Kudlow. “Now we just need to manage it. But we’ve gotten everything passed that we need for four years.”
In spite of that urging from Trump, pro-megabill Republicans have opted to abandon their typical fealty to the president and move forward with their plans. Sen. John Kennedy, a staunchly conservative Louisiana Republican, has been among the biggest proponents of another megabill. He dismissed Trump's demand, citing the president's shifting overall opinion on the matter.
"One day he’s okay with it, and the next day he’s not," Kennedy told Politico, further stressing that the GOP "haven’t done a damn thing" since the Big Beautiful Bill and must take big action.
The Republican Study Committee has been workshopping plans for a "Reconciliation 2.0" bill since August, with a January framework including breaking down its potential to implement an "ambitious housing, health care and energy agenda." Rep. August Pfluger, a Texas Republican and the committee's current chair, said that such a bill could unite the party around Trump's broader agenda at a time when they are becoming more fractured.
“This is our moment, and we intend to make the most of it,” Pfluger said.
Still others in the party warn that the support for such a bill is simply not there, with Politico reporting that they are urging colleagues not to get caught up in "false hope."
“I would love a second reconciliation bill, but I can count votes,” Rep. Jason Smith, a Missouri Republican and chair of the Ways and Means committee, told Politico. “And we do not have the votes for a second reconciliation.”
Skeptical Republicans have argued that the Big Beautiful Bill's passage was an arduous affair, and it only barely passed in the end. Things will be more difficult this time around, as the GOP's House majority has shrunk since then. In December, Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican considered highly vulnerable in the midterms, said in a closed-door meeting that a second reconciliation bill would "never" materialize.
