House Republicans are set to hear from Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday, the second day of their annual issues conference, as they work to chart a path forward on plans for a massive conservative policy overhaul.
GOP lawmakers have chosen sunny South Florida for their annual retreat. In a sign of President Donald Trump’s enduring influence on his party, the three-day event is being held at the commander in chief’s golf course and resort in Doral.
Then-former President Donald Trump headlines a Republican National Committee spring donor retreat in Palm Beach, Florida, on May 4, 2024. (Donald Trump 2024 campaign)
It is not clear yet what Vance is expected to say, but a copy of the lawmakers’ schedule for the week obtained by Fox News Digital suggests the discussion will primarily focus on the budget reconciliation process.
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Republicans have been negotiating for weeks on how to use their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate to pass massive conservative policy changes through the reconciliation process.
By reducing the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a 51-seat simple majority, reconciliation allows a party in control of both congressional chambers to enact sweeping changes, provided they are relevant to budgetary and fiscal policy.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., left, and Vice President-elect Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, walk together after leaving Vance’s office on Capitol Hill on Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
However, there has been some disagreement for weeks over how to package the GOP’s priorities. Senate Republicans have pushed for breaking the package up into two bills in order to score early victories on border security and energy policy, while leaving the more complex issue of tax reform for a second bill.
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House Republican leaders, however, are concerned that the heavy political lift that passing a reconciliation bill entails would mean lawmakers run out of time before they can extend Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, which expire at the end of this year.
Vance has not publicly said which approach he favors.
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Trump, who previously called for one “big, beautiful bill,” was less committed to the strategy during his own remarks to House Republicans in Florida on Monday night.
“Whether it’s one bill, two bills, I don’t care,” he said.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has said he wants the House to have passed a reconciliation bill by early spring.
