House GOP's reconciliation 3.0 push hits early road bumps
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House Speaker Mike Johnson attends a news conference at the Republican National Committee on July 14. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images
House Speaker Mike Johnson is in an uncomfortably familiar spot: under pressure from President Trump, under fire from members and under the gun to advance a reconciliation bill in just a few days.
Why it matters: Johnson (R-La.) is trying to tee up a final party-line legislative package before the midterms, but Republicans remain divided over the contents of the bill and the strategy behind it.
- GOP leaders are assembling a narrow framework that would include roughly $67 billion for defense, $20 billion for agriculture and farm aid, and elements of the SAVE America Act.
- The prospect of no offsets for billions of dollars in defense funding is not sitting well with conservatives. "No, I'm not," Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said when asked whether he's comfortable with no pay-fors.
- Other members are frustrated about the lack of information: "Most of the conference has been kept in the dark on what exactly is going on," Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) told Axios.
Driving the news: The White House has launched a full-court press to shore up support for the package ahead of Thursday's Budget Committee markup and a planned House vote next week.
- Johnson and House GOP leaders met with President Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the path forward.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was scheduled to meet with roughly a dozen conservative lawmakers Tuesday evening to discuss the defense funding portion of the package.
- OMB Director Russ Vought addressed House Freedom Caucus members Monday night.
Yes, but: The administration's lobbying blitz hasn't solved every problem.
- Budget Committee member Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) told her colleagues in a closed-door conference meeting Tuesday that she was leaning toward opposing the bill during the committee markup after she was left out of negotiations at Camp David over the weekend, a source in the room told Axios.
- "There's a limited amount of space, unfortunately," Rep. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) told Axios. "I don't blame her for being upset about it."
- "Somebody's got to be chosen and somebody isn't. Just because you're not doesn't say anything negative," Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) told Axios.
Another flashpoint: Some Republicans believe leadership should first test whether a bipartisan supplemental to fund the war in Iran can pass before falling back on reconciliation if necessary.
- Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) told Axios that bipartisan negotiations on a supplemental remain "a live discussion."
- "I am hopeful that if that becomes specific, a specific proposal that doesn't have other partisan initiatives, it would enjoy the support of members from across the aisle," he said.
- Rather than forcing Democrats to vote directly on funding the war in Iran, Republicans are including billions in defense funding in a reconciliation package that includes other measures Democrats would never go for, like the SAVE America Act.
Between the lines: Democrats have an easier political off-ramp when defense funding is wrapped into reconciliation.
- A clean supplemental, by contrast, would force Democrats to cast a straightforward vote on military funding — something Republicans believe could either attract bipartisan support or provide a potent campaign message if Democrats block it.
