Yes, Donald Trump is about to be inaugurated for a second time, but we can take solace in the fact that his agenda is already on the rocks. Republican leaders in the House and Senate still can’t agree on how to move forward with legislation to make good on Trump’s promises.
More than two months after Republicans won both chambers of Congress, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune are continuing to fight over whether to put Trump’s destructive tax cuts for the rich and mass deportation agenda in the same bill, or to split it into two.
“Right now, that teamwork isn’t happening. Not by a long shot,” Politico said of Johnson and Thune’s relationship.
If Republicans can’t even agree on how to move forward, forget about how difficult it will be to select the budget cuts Republicans will need to make to pass the legislation.
That’s because Republicans want to accomplish Trump’s agenda using budget reconciliation, which will allow them to bypass the Senate filibuster and pass the bill(s) with a simple majority—i.e., just Republican votes. But budget reconciliation has strict limits around how much legislation can affect the national debt. And it will require Republicans to make cuts from other programs to fund the tax cuts and deportations.
And getting Republicans to agree on what to cut from the budget will be harder than herding feral cats. They won’t be able to lose a single vote in the House, given Republicans’ extremely narrow majority.
Among the cuts Republicans are floating include slashing subsidies middle-class Americans to purchase Affordable Care Act plans, cutting food assistance for the poorest Americans, and making cuts to Medicaid. Good luck getting every single House Republican—including vulnerable members in swing seats—to vote for cuts like that.
Republican Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio
Even worse for Johnson is his political capital is already waning in his caucus, which will make it harder for him to twist arms and get his lawmakers to vote for whatever awful legislation ultimately emerges. That’s because Johnson pissed off many Republican lawmakers when he cowed to Trump and removed pro-Ukraine Rep. Mike Turner of Ohio as chair of the House Intelligence Committee.
One unnamed House Republican told Fox News’ Chad Pergram that Turner may not vote for things Johnson wants to pass as a result of his ouster.
“Mike’s never going to vote for another fucking thing around here again,” the unnamed House Republican said. “He’s mad.”
What’s more, as GOP leadership quarrels about whether to put Trump’s agenda into one bill or two, Republicans are fighting over how to make the destructive legislation revenue neutral.
Senate Republicans are rejecting a revenue generating proposal from House conservatives to raise the corporate tax rate, The Hill reported.
“Absolutely not,” Republican Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma told The Hill, regarding that idea.
Meanwhile, Democrats are watching with amusement as Republicans flail.
“With their narrow Republican margin, they can’t pass anything close to what is being discussed by the speaker or by House Republicans,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a Jan. 14 interview on MSNBC.
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