Scoop: GOP senators to huddle for special retreat on reconciliation

Zoom in: The Senate GOP conference is set to hold a 4-hour policy retreat across the street from the Capitol building at the Library of Congress, three sources familiar with the plans tell Axios.

• David Sacks will be a guest speaker. Trump's crypto and AI czar will talk with senators as leadership pushes forward on a bipartisan crypto bill this week, despite growing Democratic resistance.
• Senators will also hear from committee chairs involved in the reconciliation process, including twice from Finance Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) — first on Medicaid and then on taxes, according to an agenda obtained by Axios.

Zoom out: The Senate is largely waiting on the House right now. There is a big question on whether Senate committees will make changes to whatever the House sends over — or whether Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) will do so on the floor.

• Key House committees have already delayed into next week debates and panel votes on some of the most important parts of the sweeping budget reconciliation bill.

• The package seeks to permanently extend the 2017 tax cuts, add other Trump-prioritized tax relief, raise the debt ceiling, slash federal spending and provide hundreds of billions of dollars for the military and the border.
• The reconciliation process allows the Senate to get around the 60-vote filibuster to pass budget-related measures along party lines.

The other side: It comes the same day Senate Democrats will hear from New York Times columnist Ezra Klein and Democratic data guru David Shor at their own retreat, as Axios scooped.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with new details about the agenda for the Senate GOP retreat.