WASHINGTON — With his political standing at an all-time high, President Donald Trump took the oath of office on Monday amid growing feuds among Republicans in Congress over how to implement his policy agenda.
Republican leaders gathered at the Capitol said they would advance President Trump’s sweeping plans on immigration, domestic energy and tax legislation on party lines. That would mean controlling the party’s razor-thin House majority, locking out Democrats and subjecting it to a difficult Senate budget process. There, policy must be limited to spending and taxes to exclude Democrats and avoid the filibuster.
“We will soon begin the largest deportation operation in American history,” President Trump said at a victory rally in Washington on Sunday, hinting at the narrow Republican majority in the House. “And we’re going to end Biden’s energy war.”
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President Trump has promised to begin issuing a flurry of executive orders on his first day, but they will be constrained by law and the courts. Fulfilling many of his promises will depend on Congressional action.
But Republicans are still trying to figure out how quickly to pass complex issues on border funding and tax policy, and the many challenges they will face in the future, including cutting clean energy subsidies, raising the debt ceiling and new deficit limits. They are at odds over how to overcome the problems they face.
“This is a huge challenge,” Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said in an interview.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) is determined to combine his entire agenda into one giant bill, telling NBC News last week that he intends to pass the House by April. But the far-right House Freedom Caucus disagrees and wants the bill to be split into two.
Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, plan to pursue a two-pronged strategy. One is a smaller bill to increase border security funding, and the other is a more complex bill to be introduced later this year, including an extension of expiring Trump tax cuts. .
Republican senators say the House could surprise them by passing one bill that could be successful. But they have doubts about that, and if they don’t do so by April, they will pressure House Republicans to scrap the package and quickly send a low-hanging fruit to President Trump.
Discussions about the process are just beginning.
Republicans would need to secure near-unanimous support within their own party to pass the bill, and their House majority (220-215) is expected to shrink, at least temporarily, with a vacant seat left open during the first 100 days of the Trump administration. It is expected to have 3 seats.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), whose committee will have a section on border security and immigration enforcement, said the cost would be about $80 billion to $100 billion. He said he expected it.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said Democrats are prepared to challenge Republican immigration measures in Congress and reverse policies that do not comply with the so-called Byrd Rule. Ta.
“We anticipate quite a few battles on immigration,” Durbin said.
Republicans also want new provisions to expand domestic energy production, including fossil fuels, at the same time that Democrats He said he wants to eliminate the unused clean energy fund passed in the Inflation Control Act. committee.
He said he has already begun considering policy options, adding that he prefers a two-bill approach that includes an energy policy plan in the first measure.
“This is not a new initiative for us. We are looking at things like IRA subsidies and methane taxes,” Capito said in an interview. “Because energy is a really important part.”
He said Republicans don’t have estimates of energy costs or savings and that the numbers are “overall.”
Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said resolving some of the intraparty disputes will require President Trump’s “100%” commitment.
He said the House is “a little concerned about being able to get both done in the same year,” referring to the single-bill strategy. “And of course we’re a little nervous about the border. Something has to get done.”
Tuberville also said Republicans need to think about how to deal with a potential expansion of the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT). The issue is one that divides Republicans in high-tax states like New York and New Jersey and Republicans in most states. The proportion of political parties in red-leaning regions, and the debt ceiling.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-Missouri) told NBC News last week that the committee was prepared to pass a massive bill within “a week,” including an extension of the Trump tax cuts. he said.
“We’re ready. Give us direction on budget adjustments,” Smith said, adding that the budget committee needs to agree on a direction. “The bill has to pass the House, the Senate, and that’s the direction we’re given, because what they tell us is determined by what we can do. So we can’t do anything until the budget is passed.”
