House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that cuts to Social Security and Medicare will not be part of the legislative package he is crafting to fund President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda.
“No, the president has made it clear that Social Security and Medicare need to be saved,” Johnson said when asked if he was open to cutting the programs as part of the spending plans being worked out by House and Senate Republican leaders. “We have to look at every expense while maintaining … The Republican Party is not going to cut benefits.”
Johnson said he would meet with Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Tuesday to discuss ideas for a funding package that Republicans want to achieve through “reconciliation” — a fast-track process limited to spending and revenue legislation that only needs a majority. A threshold of 60 votes was needed in the Senate to pass the legislation. Republicans hold a narrow majority in the House and a 3-seat majority in the Senate.
Republicans in Congress have not yet decided on a reconciliation plan. Johnson is pushing Trump’s desire for “one big, beautiful bill” to fund his agenda, but Senate leaders and some conservatives in the House prefer to split it into two pieces of legislation.
House Speaker Mike Johnson is shown at a news conference on January 7, 2025 in Washington.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
The negotiated package is expected to include some of Trump’s top priorities, including extending tax cuts passed in his first term and addressing his immigration reforms, including more funding for the Border Patrol and ICE. Trump has also pushed Congress to increase or eliminate the debt limit, though the details of any plans are unclear.
Trump reiterated that he wanted one bill when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday, but said he could live with two.
“Well, I like a nice big bill, and always have, always will,” he said. But if it’s more certain, it will go a little faster because you can do the immigration stuff early.”
President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago on January 7, 2024 in Palm Beach, Florida.
Evan Vucci/AP
Before Trump spoke, Johnson said he remains convinced that a single-bill strategy is the “best way forward.”
“I’ll be meeting with Leader Thune today about both ideas,” Johnson told reporters outside a closed-door GOP meeting Tuesday morning. “We still believe that the one-bill strategy here is the best way forward, but there are some senators who have different ideas.”
“They’re all dear friends and colleagues, and we’re going to work together. We’re going to get both chambers together on the same strategy. And I think the president still prefers a ‘big, beautiful bill,’ as he likes to say, and to his great credit. – maybe we could talk about that in detail here at our leadership press conference.”
Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso said one of the main goals of the meeting with Trump will be to try to forge a clearer path toward reconciliation.
“He’s going to be with the Senate leadership and the entire Senate conference tomorrow to talk about that particular thing and make sure we’re on the same page with the House,” Barrasso said.
Barrasso said a two-part plan would deliver victories for Trump early in his presidency and give him more time to deal with tax policy that doesn’t expire until the end of the year, but “the goal is the same.”
“There was a suggestion from John Thune — this was before Christmas — that he said, ‘Let’s get an early victory at the border.’ that we could do it faster, with a focus on taking the handcuffs off America’s energy and military power, and then they’ll have a longer time to work on the financial component of it,” Barrasso said. “This issue and the urgency of the tax issue will not come into play until later in the year to the point where these other issues are more urgent.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Majority Leader John Thune lead a Senate procession through the Rotunda to the House Chamber to confirm Electoral College votes for a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill January 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Jose Luis Magana/AP
Johnson also said he wants to manage the debt limit — another Trump priority — during the reconciliation process, which Republicans could try to pass without the support of Democrats in both chambers.
“That way, the Republican Party, as the party in charge of both chambers, we get to work out the details of that again. If it goes through the regular order, the regular process … then you have to have both parties negotiate. And we feel like we’re better off doing it ourselves,” he said
Johnson said members would have “lengthy” sessions to discuss the reconciliation plan because there were “widespread opinions” on how to handle it.
“Republicans in this House and Senate majority — our intent, our mission is to significantly reduce spending so that we can achieve, restore fiscal sanity … so raising the debt limit is a necessary step, not to give the appearance that we’re going to default on the nation’s debt somehow,” he added. has
Johnson said that doesn’t mean Republicans are “suffering” from spending more toward the new debt limit because the “commitment” is to cut spending, but the final formula hasn’t been determined.
The speaker also told reporters that he will speak with Trump on Tuesday, ahead of the president-elect’s visit to Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
“I’m sure I’ll talk to him, probably this afternoon, and when he’s in town, I’m sure we’ll meet,” Johnson said. “He and I have a very busy schedule. He’s trying really hard to fit in that visit on the hill, so we’re kind to him.” said Johnson.
Johnson said there will be more debate on Trump’s agenda when he meets with House Republicans in Mar-a-Lagon this weekend.
“He’s bringing a large group of House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago for three days in a row this weekend to meet and talk with all of our members about what’s ahead and the challenges and how we can get this all done together. So we’re very excited for the president-elect, and so are we all.” , he said.
Senate Republicans are preparing to meet with President-elect Trump at the Capitol tomorrow, and one of their main goals will be to try to make a clearer path forward on Trump’s agenda through a quick budget tool called reconciliation, the Republican Whip. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. he said
“He’s going to be with the Senate leadership and the entire Senate conference tomorrow to talk about that particular thing and make sure we’re on the same page with the House,” Barrasso said.
Barrasso said today that “the goal is the same” whether Congress ultimately pursues a one-part bill, as President Johnson and Trump have suggested, or a two-part strategy advocated by Majority Leader Thune.
But he favored a two-part plan that would give Trump victories early in his presidency and give him more time to tackle tax policy that doesn’t expire until the end of the year.
“There was a suggestion from John Thune — this was before Christmas — that he said, ‘Let’s get an early victory at the border.’ that we could do it faster, with a focus on taking the handcuffs off America’s energy and military power, and then they’ll have a longer time to work on the financial component of it,” Barrasso said. “This issue and the urgency of the tax issue will not come into play until later in the year to the point where these other issues are more urgent.”
Senate Republicans have a little more breathing room for these measures than their House colleagues because they hold a 3-seat GOP majority. In the House, Johnson could only lose one Republican, so the priority for a big bill seems to be focused on rallying his members.
“If you put together some high-priority issues, people are more likely to vote for the bigger package, because even though there might be something in it that doesn’t meet their priorities, they won’t be willing to. Vote against bigger measures that are so bad for the American people and for President Trump high priority,” Johnson told Newsmax on Monday.
