House Republicans have returned to Washington after a two-week break, laser-focused on putting together a “big, beautiful bill” that should carry President Trump’s legislative agenda, and they are wasting no time getting to work.
Six of the 11 House committees working on the massive package are holding summary hearings this week, and others are preparing to join in the coming days. The plan is to consolidate the various proposals in the House Budget Committee before sending the final, mammoth bill to the House floor.
Republicans are hoping that the budget reconciliation process will push the legislation through without a single Democratic vote, bypassing a Senate filibuster — which, of course, assumes the Republican Party can maintain unity. With an extremely slim majority, just four Republicans could defeat the entire transition package.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) had marked Memorial Day on his calendar as the deadline for the bill to reach President Trump’s desk. But even getting it through the House next month seems risky due to bipartisan bickering over the details of spending and tax cuts.
The action begins Tuesday with a simultaneous meeting of three committees – Armed Forces, Homeland Security, and Education and Labor.
The Armed Services Committee is proposing a staggering $150 billion in defense spending, including $34 billion for shipbuilding, $25 billion for the Golden Dome missile defense system, and $21 billion to replenish America’s munitions. “President Trump has a visionary strategy for achieving peace through strength, and this investment is the way we begin to implement it,” said Armed Services Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL).
Meanwhile, the Homeland Security Committee plans to allocate $46.5 billion to build Trump’s border wall and improve border security technology. In addition, $5 billion is earmarked to upgrade Customs and Border Protection facilities, $4.1 billion to hire more than 8,000 new agents, and $2 billion to retain and recruit employees through bonuses.
The Education and Labor Committee is doing its part to find savings by touting $330 billion in cuts to student loan programs. “This plan will create accountability and hold schools financially responsible for burdening students with debt,” said Chairman Tim Walberg (R-MI).
But these are easy battles. The real fireworks are expected when the committees begin to tackle social assistance programs like Medicaid and food stamps and work out the details of tax cuts — areas where Republicans hope to achieve even greater savings but where internal divisions are rife.
Democrats are not sitting idly by. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) led a 12-hour sit-in on the steps of the Capitol on Sunday to protest potential cuts to Medicaid and other social assistance programs.
“As Democrats, we will continue to stand with the American people and will not rest until we bury this reckless Republican budget,” Jeffries promised.
Booker intervened, hoping that enough Republicans could be pressured to “do the right thing and vote no.”
Legislative work continues Wednesday, as the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Government Reform, and Transportation and Infrastructure committees delve into their respective parts of the bill.
The Judiciary Committee’s budget is full of immigration-related measures: $45 billion to expand detention facilities, $14.4 billion for transportation and removal operations, $8 billion to hire ICE agents, and $1.25 billion for immigration judges and staff.
Oversight and government reform found over $50 billion in offsets, including $31 billion in increases in pension payments for federal workers and $10 billion in elimination of early retirement annuities for most workers.
The Financial Services Authority would reclaim unused Inflation Reduction Act funds for green housing renovations, merge the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board with the SEC, and limit funding for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The Transport and Infrastructure Committee will release its report on Tuesday.
The clock is ticking and tensions are rising, the fate of Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” is approaching confrontation – and the unity of the Republican Party is being tested to the limit.
