Donald Trump huddles with Senate Republicans as GOP leaders disagree on how to pass his agenda
WASHINGTON – President-elect Donald Trump met with Senate Republicans Wednesday night as GOP leaders split over the best path forward to enact his agenda.
Trump appeared to support a single-bill strategy preferred by House Republicans, according to GOP senators leaving the meeting in the U.S. Capitol, but was open to doing it in two separate packages if that stalls – which is still Senate Republicans' preferred method.
"We're looking at the one bill versus two bills, and whatever it is doesn't matter, we're going to get the result and we're going to make America great again," Trump said to reporters before the meeting as he walked past the Senate chamber to the Rotunda, where he paid his respects to the late President Jimmy Carter lying in state.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. escorted Trump, who arrived at the Capitol with his wife Melania Trump and incoming White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
Trump also discussed his proposal to annex Greenland, touted tariffs to pay for his priorities, and walked through the immigration-related executive orders he plans to sign on his first day in office, senators said.
"You heard him say in his press conference that he's going to shut the border down – he has the ability through immediate actions of executive orders and other things," said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V. "He's concerned about the safety of the country and what he sees going on with illegal immigration, so I think that carries a great urgency for him."
Congressional Republicans say they want to pass Trump's top policy priorities quickly, but they disagree on the best way to do it.
House Republicans want all their big priorities – border security, energy and tax policy – rolled into one massive bill. Senate Republicans would prefer to break it down into two big bills, one tackling border and energy first and another on tax policy.
Trump request for Senate Republicans: "That we all be on the same page, and that it's time to get things done. So work together and actually accomplish something," said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.
GOP senators argue taxes are going to spark a fight in Congress and take some time, so that's why they want to move first on immigration and the nation's energy industry. House Republicans, dealing with one of the smallest margins in modern history, fear two bills would be extremely difficult to get through their chamber.
Republicans are set to lead the House 220-215, so just a handful of GOP rebels could derail even must-pass legislation.
What Thune, Johnson and other top GOP lawmakers decide may determine how much of Trump's agenda can be accomplished in his first 100 days in office.
Trump is meeting with several groups of congressional Republicans this week in an attempt to get lawmakers on the same page about the most effective route. Senate Republicans Wednesday, followed by a slew of House Republicans visiting Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, over the weekend.