By Brendan Scanland
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Late Wednesday evening, President-elect Donald Trump returned to Capitol Hill for his first in-person meeting with lawmakers since the 119th Congress convened last week.
“We had a great meeting. There’s great unity,” said Trump following the roughly two-hour meeting.
Atop the list of the closed-door meeting was whether to combine key priorities for the President-elect into “one, big, beautiful bill,” which is the preferred route of Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R- LA). The other option, splitting the priorities into two separate bills, is the route favored by several Republican senators, given their narrow majorities in Congress.
“Whether it’s one bill or two bills, it’s going to get done one way or the other. I think there’s a lot of talk about, two, and there’s a lot of talk about one, but it doesn’t matter. The end result is the same,” said the President-elect. “We’re going to get something done that’s going to be reducing taxes and creating a lot of jobs.”
On Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D- NY) outlined the Democratic agenda as the party prepares to navigate a Republican trifecta in Washington. Schumer, joined by freshman senators during the outdoor press conference Thursday afternoon, braved freezing temperatures to discuss areas where they’re willing to work with Republicans.
“If Republicans want to join us and not just help those at the very top, we stand ready to work with them. But our promise to Republicans comes with a warning. Democrats will not hesitate to fight back if Republicans use their new majorities to make life more expensive for the working families of this country,” said Sen. Schumer.
“Wherever I can, I’m going to work across the aisle. But when it comes to our democracy, our rights, our values, I am going to stand up and stand in the breach,” said freshman Senator Elissa Slotkin (D- Mich), who won her statewide race last November in a blue wall state that went for Trump.
At the center of the GOP’s legislative priorities, whether it comes as one bill or two, are tax cuts, energy production and border security. Both the House and Senate are looking to use the “budget reconciliation procedure” to avoid a potential Democratic filibuster which could stall the legislation. Whether the best way to do that is with one big bill or two separate ones, remains to be seen.
