Senate Majority Chief John Thune (R-S.D.) instructed reporters on Wednesday that he was shocked by President Trump’s assist for the GOP-controlled Home’s one-bill spending plan as Congress navigates essential finances negotiations.
“Did not see that one coming,” Thune stated of Trump’s publish on Fact Social hours earlier.
In his publish, the president praised each the Home and Senate for “doing a SPECTACULAR job of working together as one unified, and unbeatable, TEAM,” however urged Senate Republicans to look to the Home, quite than attempting a piecemeal method to enacting his sweeping agenda.
“House Resolution implements my FULL America First Agenda, EVERYTHING, not just parts of it!” he wrote. “We’d like each Chambers to go the Home Price range to ‘kickstart’ the Reconciliation course of, and transfer all of our priorities to the idea of, ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL.'”
On Wednesday, Vice President Vance is assembly with Senate Republicans to proceed discussions, whereas Trump is in Florida.
Thune stated Vance, who represented Ohio within the Senate for 2 years, would have a possibility to “further clarify, elaborate on the White House’s views on the subject.”
“I think we’re all heading in the same direction. We all want to get to the same result and ultimate destination. How we get there is still a point of discussion,” the Senate GOP chief stated. “It’d be really boring if we had a unicameral system, wouldn’t it?”
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (Wyo.), the No. 2 Republican within the chamber, instructed reporters after Trump’s publish that senators are “still on schedule” with their finances decision.
The Republican leaders within the Home and Senate have been at odds over the technique to go a finances define, with the Senate plotting out a two-bill method whereas the Home has caught to a single-bill technique.
The Senate on Tuesday teed up a vote for its finances decision later this week, which might set the rules the GOP-controlled Senate makes use of because it crafts the primary of a two-part plan to advance Trump’s legislative agenda.
Home Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who’s an in depth ally of Trump, hit again on the Senate’s method this week because the higher chamber’s management moved the two-step effort.
“We remain laser-focused on sending our bill to President Trump’s desk to secure the border, keep taxes low, restore American energy dominance, strengthen America’s military, and make government work better for all Americans,” Johnson wrote on the social platform X on Tuesday, shortly after Thune outlined plans for the week.
However Thune has defended the higher chamber’s method, whereas sustaining curiosity within the Home’s progress and optimism concerning the end result.
“We’re planning to proceed. … We’re interested in what the House can pass,” he stated. “We have loads to do and the tax parts of it, the deficit-reduction parts of it are issues that we will need to, in some unspecified time in the future, agree on. However within the close to time period, the president has requested for assets to safe the border, we all know now we have to rebuild our army, and people are priorities which can be addressed within the focused invoice that we put collectively.
“These are small differences with respect to tactics, but in the end the strategic goals are still the same,” he added.
The Hill’s Al Weaver contributed to this report.
