Republicans have spent recent weeks laying the groundwork for such a bill, which they hope will serve as a final sales pitch to voters going into the midterms.<\/p>\n
Speaker Mike Johnson<\/a> and Majority Leader Steve Scalise, both of Louisiana, have been meeting with committee and caucus chairs to screen for proposals that have strong buy-in from the rank and file. They are aiming to follow up on last summer\u2019s big tax and spending cuts bill<\/a> with a measure that would increase Pentagon spending by hundreds of billions of dollars and would include cuts elsewhere to help pay for it, which they are couching as tackling government waste and fraud<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise R-La., left, listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mariam Zuhaib)<\/p>\n Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks as House Majority Leader Steve Scalise R-La., left, listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Friday, May 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Mariam Zuhaib)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n It\u2019s a high-stakes gambit in an election year. Success will reinforce the GOP\u2019s message of being able to deliver on legislative priorities. Failure will underscore some of the Republican fractures under Trump that could leave voters seeking an alternative. <\/p>\n Here\u2019s a look at the coming debate as Republicans hope to pass a bill before leaving for their August recess.<\/p>\n House Republicans sound confident<\/p>\n Johnson navigated the House GOP\u2019s slim majority in passing Trump\u2019s tax and spending cuts bill last summer. The vote<\/a> was 218-214. At the time, Republicans could afford to lose three votes from within their ranks. They lost just two. <\/p>\n They\u2019ll have a thin margin of error again, but Johnson said he\u2019s even more confident of success this time around.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will be just as beautiful, but not as big, so it\u2019ll have less provisions and less things to get everybody to yes on,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Rep. Jodey Arrington, chairman of the House Budget Committee, said Republicans are just as motivated as they were last year on the tax cuts bill.<\/p>\n \u201cThis one, I think you\u2019ll have potentially money to support our troops in conflict,\u201d said Arrington, of Texas. \u201cI can\u2019t imagine a Republican not wanting to support our troops and military community in a time of conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump administration has called on Republicans to provide $350 billion to defense<\/a> through a reconciliation bill.<\/p>\n But Rep. Brendan Boyle, the lead Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said Republicans will have a more difficult path than they did with Trump\u2019s big tax and spending cuts bill.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it will be for a couple of reasons. First is the president\u2019s approval rating. He was at a much higher level a year ago than he is right now,\u201d said Boyle, of Pennsylvania. \u201cNumber 2, we are much closer to the November midterm elections. So, if you\u2019re one of a dozen or a couple dozen House Republicans who are really vulnerable in a swing district, you have to think even more carefully about voting for something that has even more health care cuts in it.\u201d<\/p>\n The tax cuts bill that passed last summer reduced spending on Medicaid by more than $900 billion over a decade. It also reduced spending on nutrition assistance by about $187 billion over a decade, according to the Congressional Budget Office. <\/p>\n Caution in the Senate<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune called a third reconciliation bill to get around the filibuster a \u201cpotential option,\u201d hardly a ringing endorsement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, is joined by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., left, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., right, during the Senate Republican policy luncheon news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)<\/p>\n Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, is joined by Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., left, and Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., right, during the Senate Republican policy luncheon news conference at the Capitol, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t made any commitments on that, but we\u2019re hearing people out,\u201d said Thune, of South Dakota.<\/p>\n Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said lawmakers should know what will be in the bill before the legislative process begins. That way, it\u2019s less likely to unravel.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it just becomes another exercise where you\u2019re not really sure what\u2019s going to be the end product, then I think it\u2019s a mistake even to pursue it,\u201d Tillis said. \u201cWe ought to be smart about it if we do a third one, but it is kind of a moonshot.\u201d<\/p>\n Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said she worried about the strategy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Chair Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska., speaks during hearing on the budget request for the EPA on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta)<\/p>\n Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies Chair Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska., speaks during hearing on the budget request for the EPA on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 13, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo\/Manuel Balce Ceneta)<\/p>\n Add AP News on Google <\/p>\n Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google.<\/p>\n Share<\/p>\n Read More<\/p>\n \u201cA third reconciliation may or may not happen. I\u2019m just being direct,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Little time and fractured relations<\/p>\n The House is expected to be in session for about 24 more days before it breaks for its August recess. That leaves little time to pass a budget blueprint in both chambers, which is the first hurdle for pursuing party-line tax and spending bills. Committees would also have to wrap up their work advancing their portions of the legislation.<\/p>\n Another hurdle could be Trump\u2019s treatment of current senators whose votes he will need for any package to become law. Trump endorsed opponents of two senators who faced stiff primary challenges and eventually lost \u2014 Sens. Bill Cassidy<\/a> of Louisiana and John Cornyn<\/a> of Texas. <\/p>\n Cassidy has already shown more willingness to buck the president. Fresh off his primary loss<\/a>, he voted last week to advance a bill that seeks to force Trump to withdraw from hostilities with Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Speaker](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/people\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1779982451_569_.jpeg\")
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