Incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is laying out a legislative road map for 2025 with plans to pass a colossal bill within the first month under the new administration.
Thune revealed his legislative priorities during a Republican meeting on Tuesday, telling his colleagues that he intends to swiftly move forward a budget reconciliation bill on border security, defense and energy within the first 30 days of the new Congress.
Reconciliation is a legislative maneuver used to fast-track bills on issues such as taxes, the debt limit and federal spending by bypassing the Senate’s 60-vote threshold for passage, instead lowering it to a simple 51-vote majority.
The senator told lawmakers that his next order of business would be legislation focusing on taxes and other top priorities of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration.
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Sen. John Thune was elected to serve as the next Senate majority leader in the next Congress. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg)
Lawmakers in the House chamber have already signaled their intention to also pass a border security and energy-focused reconciliation bill.
“We’re going to push the outer limits to include as much pro-growth strategy as we can. One of those would be regulatory reform,” Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, the House Budget Committee Chair, told Fox News Digital. “Another one will be border security and immigration reform.”
However, reconciliation plans were not welcomed by all congressional Republicans.
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, strongly criticized the proposal, labeling the concept of reconciliation as “reckless.”
Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the Capitol on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“If they do that process, I think that they are creating an opportunity to increase taxes for all Americans,” Smith told Punchbowl News.
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During Tuesday’s meeting, Thune also revealed his plans to make some changes to the workflow in the chamber.
The Republican senator said that votes would no longer be held indefinitely to shorten voting time and prepared lawmakers to expect longer work weeks during the first few months of the 119th Congress.
President-elect Donald Trump reportedly called into the senate meeting. (Evan Vucci)
Trump reportedly called into Tuesday’s meeting to speak with the senators as they discussed legislative priorities, as he will have to work closely with the chamber to move forward his own agenda.
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“He was thrilled with his victory,” Sen. John Barrasso, R–Wyo., said of Trump’s call, the Hill reported. “We have a mandate and an opportunity to do the sorts of things that we campaigned upon in terms of lowering prices, in terms of the border, in terms of getting America back on track.”
Fox News’ Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
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