A group of House Republicans discussed pushing to pass a new party-line bill before the summer recess begins in closed-door meetings Tuesday, according to five people granted anonymity to describe the private conversations.
The bill would be in addition to the immigration enforcement bill now moving through the GOP-controlled Senate under the filibuster-skirting budget reconciliation process. The agenda for such a bill — the third reconciliation measure since the Republican trifecta began last year — is unsettled but could include a variety of conservative policy initiatives.
Asked if Republicans can meet a summer timeline for the legislation, Speaker Mike Johnson said, “I do,” as he left the House floor Tuesday.
Inside the gatherings, some Republicans raised concerns about the messaging around the first two reconciliation bills and the need to be careful ahead of the midterms, the people said.
Republicans have struggled to sell the “big, beautiful bill” they passed last year to the public, with many lawmakers now referring to it as the “working families tax cuts” bill, while the legislation currently moving through the Senate is mired in a debate over White House ballroom costs.
Amid Johnson’s optimism, GOP leaders are trying to sort through whether it’s feasible to pass another bill before the scheduled summer recess begins July 23. Both chambers would first have to approve an identical budget resolution, meaning the fractious House and Senate would have to agree on the broad outlines of what the bill would do — a process that took months during last year’s drafting of the megabill.
Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who is in charge of reconciliation planning with House chairs, said they were moving “aggressively” but did not have a timeline to share at the moment.
Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), who has pushed for the additional party-line bill as chair of the Republican Study Committee, said he was optimistic it could be done.
“We have achieved every objective and goal that we set out to do, and we will achieve this one as well,” he said.
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