This week: Reconciliation bill back on track, at least for now

Miami Herald

19-05-2025

WASHINGTON - House Budget Committee Republicans advanced a sweeping reconciliation bill Sunday night, but for the GOP, the internal debate is far from over.
"CONGRATULATIONS REPUBLICANS!!! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!" President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social after the Budget Committee's markup.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, one of four conservative Budget Committee members who agreed to vote "present" Sunday to allow the House to move forward with the bill designed to implement Trump's policy agenda, said in a statement, "the bill does not yet meet the moment."
The Rules Committee is scheduled to convene at 1 a.m. Wednesday to set the ground rules for floor debate on the measure after releasing an updated committee print version of the legislative text overnight.
Among the newest changes is the removal of a provision opposed by Rep. Michael R. Turner, R-Ohio, that would force federal agency employees, lawmakers and congressional staff to contribute more of their salaries to their pension plans. The effective dates of two other pension-related provisions would be delayed to 2028.
Roy said provisions related to curbing spending enacted under President Joe Biden, especially for environmental and energy programs, needed to see further cuts. He also criticized the bill's Medicaid language.
Roy said in a statement that the bill "fails to end the Medicaid money laundering scam and perverse funding structure that provides seven times more federal dollars for each dollar of state spending for the able-bodied relative to the vulnerable. This all ultimately increases the likelihood of continuing deficits and non-Obamacare-expansion states like Texas expanding in the future," Roy said in a statement.
More moderate Republicans and even some conservatives from states that took part in Medicaid expansion have decidedly different vows. And that all underscores the challenge facing Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and other members of the House GOP leadership in the days ahead as they try to get the bill through through the Rules Committee, with a finalized manager's amendment, on Wednesday.
"It's very important for everybody to understand why we're being so aggressive on the timetable and why this really is so important," Johnson said on Fox News Sunday. "This is the vehicle through which we will deliver on the mandate that the American people gave us in the last election."
While the Budget Committee cannot make changes to the reconciliation text proposed by the various House committees, the Rules Committee can and almost certainly will.
"The only reason this vote passed tonight is because they've plotted behind closed doors to hurt even more families while refusing to share this backroom deal with the American people," House Budget ranking member Brendan F. Boyle, D-Pa., said during Sunday's markup.
Blue-state Republicans, particularly those representing potential swing districts, have separate concerns from those members from red states - headlined by their desire to expand the allowable deduction for state and local taxes.
The reconciliation bill isn't the only priority for House Republicans on the floor this week: They also intend to torpedo Biden administration rules related to bank mergers and the environment, both through resolutions under the Congressional Review Act. House passage of those two measures would send them on to the president.
Stablecoins bill, Kushner nomination in Senate
Senators are largely in watching-and-waiting mode to see the final House product. In the meantime, the Senate will make another run at reaching a bipartisan consensus on stablecoins legislation this week. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., has set up another cloture vote on proceeding to the bill.
The first attempt at limiting debate on proceeding to the measure came up well short of the needed 60 votes, after generally supportive Democrats opposed the specific measure. Now, it appears there is a path forward.
"This bill will cement US dollar dominance, protect customers, increase demand for US treasuries, and ensure that innovation in the digital asset space is in the hands of the United States of America, not our adversaries," Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said in a statement Friday.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who supported an earlier version before voting "no" on cloture, was now supportive. An aide said Warner would be encouraging colleagues to join him.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who has been a leading Democratic supporter, was upbeat about the chances for passage.
"The bipartisan GENIUS Act will provide regulatory clarity to this important industry, keep innovation on shore, add robust consumer protection, and reaffirm the dominance of the U.S. dollar," Gillibrand said in a statement. "The crafting of this bill has been a true bipartisan effort and I'm optimistic we can pass it in the coming days."
Before that, however, the Senate's first roll call vote of the week will be to limit debate on the nomination of Charles Kushner to be U.S. ambassador to France and Monaco. Kushner, who is the father of Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, received a pardon from Trump during his first term.
Kushner's nomination was reported from the Foreign Relations Committee on a 12-0 vote. Democratic members of the committee boycotted that vote.
While most eyes will be on the House and Senate floors, committees in both chambers have plenty of hearings scheduled before the Memorial Day recess. Appropriators will be hearing testimony on the Trump administration's fiscal 2026 budget proposals ahead of what could be a busy summer of work on new spending bills.
----------
Peter Cohn contributed to this report.
Copyright (C) 2025, Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Portions copyrighted by the respective providers.