This past week, Congress continued to develop a strategy to approve President Trump’s policy agenda, seeking additional funds for border protection and deporting illegal immigrants, more money for defense, new energy rules, and an extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts. The Congress also needs to deal with the March 14 government shutdown deadline for current fiscal year spending and an increase in the debt ceiling.
In the House, the Budget Committee approved a massive budget resolution that funded the President’s programs, set a target for budget cuts that would total at least $1.5 trillion, and increased the debt ceiling by $4 trillion. It is estimated that this increase would carry the government until early 2027. The Budget Resolution is the first part of the filibuster-proof Budget Reconciliation process, the tool Republicans in Congress believe will enable them to win approval for the Trump program.
The House Committee action represented a deal between leadership and the conservative House Freedom Caucus that has traditionally opposed debt-ceiling increase bills. The bill should come before the House when they return from a Presidents Day break the week of February 24. Some worry that the break could give time for critics to build opposition to the deal put together by Speaker Johnson and his leadership team. The proposed cuts would severely reduce funding for Medicaid and many social programs funded by the federal government.
On the Senate side, the Republican leadership is working on a two-bill approach, looking for quick action on the President’s program to increase defense spending, build up border enforcement, provide more resources for deporting illegal immigrants, and increase U.S. energy supply. Under the Senate approach, the approval of extensions for the Trump tax cuts, which don’t expire until yearend, will handled in a second package.
The lack of consensus about whether to split Trump’s proposals into two bills or incorporate all of them into one big, beautiful bill continues to complicate the Trump legislative agenda. The President is likely the only person who can summon the Congressional leaders to the White House and iron out a unified strategy.
While they work on the budget and debt-ceiling strategies, Congress and the White House also have a quickly approaching deadline of March 14 to enact a new Continuing Resolution to avoid a government shutdown.
