“I, as chairman, have made every effort to work with our Democratic colleagues, but we won’t give in to delays that undermine the American people’s mandate. It’s time to move forward and focus on solutions that will unleash America’s full energy potential, and I hope Democrats will work with us to deliver results for the American people.”
GOP senators have accused their Democratic colleagues of seeking to stonewall some Trump noms like Gabbard, whose comments about since-ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad have drawn controversy, in an effort to hamper Trump’s transition.
It could then pass both chambers of Congress by a simple majority. Republicans currently hold a 53-47 edge in the Senate, and a 219-215 cushion in the House.
Without Democratic votes, a single bill could conceivably reach the 47th president’s desk through a process known as budget reconciliation, which requires a bare majority in the Senate, rather than the usual 60 votes.
Trump has telegraphed that his preference is for congressional Republicans to pass “one big, beautiful bill” to kick off his term, with a focus on cracking down on illegal immigration into the US and clawing back unspent funds authorized by his predecessor for an array of renewable energy programs.
Thune told The Post following the Trump meeting that it’s unclear if the initial wave of legislation would include the president-elect’s promises to abolish taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security income.
“Obviously there is a lot involved in crafting a tax bill…. There are a lot of moving parts. There are a lot of suggestions that have come up, and the president has put on the table, which we will take under consideration,” said Thune.
Some Republicans, however, have said the routine filings are not coming fast enough from top noms.
“By far the best chance of success is taking up two bills,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) reflected after the meeting, adding that “failure is not an option” and noting that there was near unanimous agreement in the room on that point.
In Bondi’s case, her confirmation hearing has been tentatively set for Jan. 15 and 16, with a possibility that the Senate could vote to approve her by Trump’s inauguration Jan. 20.
“We have a lot of money that we’re going to be clawing back from the Green New Scam,” the incoming president boasted to conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt on Monday.
“It was a really good meeting, very strong,” said Trump, 78.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) prefers the two-bill approach, with the first package handling border and energy priorities and the second tranche of spending extending Trump’s tax cuts from 2017.
“No decisions were made,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), who helped moderate the session with Trump, told reporters afterward. “The president was listening very intently.
“But in the end, we want to produce a bill that extends the existing tax policy that will prevent a $4.6 trillion tax increase on the American people at the end of the year, and hopefully accomplish some other things that the president has laid out as objectives,” he added.
Following the meeting, senators indicated that a lot of the details about the legislation and the procedural tactics lawmakers will take were left undecided.
“These are people that have been here since, in many cases, birth. They’ve been here for many years. They were very young, and now they’re middle-aged people. In some cases, they’re old people. It’s been talked about, and I’m certainly open to talking about it,” Trump explained.
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“It feels great. It couldn’t feel better,” a beaming Trump, joined by his wife Melania, told reporters about his return to the legislative complex. “We’re going to get the results, and we’re going to make America great again.”
Wednesday’s visit marks the first time Trump has set foot in the US Capitol since he departed the White House in 2021, though he went back to Washington, DC, for a visit with President Biden on Nov. 13 and for a meeting with Republicans this past June.
“The border is going to be secure. We’re going to start it immediately,” he added. “We had the best border we’ve ever had, and we’ll have the best border we’ve ever had times two. I would prefer one, but I will do whatever needs to be done to get it passed.”
Meanwhile, several Trump cabinet picks visited Republican and Democratic senators earlier Wednesday for closed-door meetings — including Health and Human Services Secretary-designate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Director of National Intelligence-designate Tulsi Gabbard.
WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump emerged from a marathon 100-minute huddle with Senate Republicans touting what he called a “very strong” discussion of how to implement his agenda — after paying his respects to the late Jimmy Carter feet away at the Capitol.
So far, there has been little discussion in the public domain about how the bill will be funded. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) lamented that there had been talk in the Mansfield room about using tariffs.
