By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President-elect Donald Trump and Republican colleagues in Congress will begin trying on Wednesday to chart a path to enacting more tax cuts, border controls and fossil fuel production through a divided U.S. Congress.
With only narrow majorities in the Senate and House of Representatives, Republicans have yet to agree on whether to pursue one bill containing his priorities or two and hold divergent views about what the legislation should contain.
Some Senate Republicans had argued they should break Trump’s agenda into two bills, allowing them to notch a quick success on border and energy policy before turning to the thornier matter of taxes. Some House Republicans warn that, given their narrow margin of control, the two-step approach runs the risk of failing to pass the second bill extending Trump’s tax cuts.
In a possible sign of things to come, Trump had to intervene in the House last week when Speaker Mike Johnson initially fell short of the votes needed for reelection to his top post. After nearly two hours of negotiations, a call from Trump helped sway two hardline Republican opponents to change their positions and support Johnson.
“None of this happens without White House leadership. The margins are simply too thin,” Republican Senator Thom Tillis told reporters. “President Trump gets MVP status for solving the speaker vote. And we’re going to need him to play MVP on getting these bills done. Just common sense.”
Trump’s first stop will be with Senate Republicans on Wednesday evening, before he attends the funeral of former President Jimmy Carter in Washington on Thursday.
On Friday, the president-elect is also due to begin three days of meetings with House Republicans at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
“It’ll probably be good that he hears from us first,” said Senator Shelley Moore Capito, who is hosting Wednesday’s meeting. “He needs to hear what our impressions are in terms of how we’re going to get where we all want to go.”
The Trump-Vance transition team did not respond to a query seeking comment on the meetings.
Republicans intend to pass Trump’s agenda by using a complex legislative maneuver that would allow them to bypass Senate Democratic opposition. Republicans hold a 53-47 seat majority in the Senate, too narrow to otherwise overcome the chamber’s 60-vote filibuster for most legislation.
In the House, a 219-seat majority is expected to dwindle to 217-215 after Trump takes office in less than two weeks. Two House Republicans are poised to leave Congress and join his administration.
‘HE HAS TO TELL US’
Trump himself has complicated matters up to now by offering no clear guidance, saying he prefers one bill but could accept two. On Tuesday, Trump said he wants Congress to avoid default on the $36 trillion U.S. debt by extending the federal borrowing limit.
“He has to tell us what he wants and what he needs,” said House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Arrington. “That’s a call he has to make.”
Trump is expected to meet on Friday with members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus. Lawmakers and aides said he would also meet with committee chairs on Saturday and with other House Republicans on Sunday.
U.S. Representative Ralph Norman, a Freedom Caucus member and one of the two Republican holdouts who Trump persuaded to support Johnson last week, said he intends to ask Trump to use his leverage to back aggressive spending reductions that would help compensate for a higher federal debt ceiling.
“What I’m going to ask President Trump is, if you’re going to raise the debt ceiling, let’s raise the dollar of legitimate cuts that we can allow,” Norman said without providing details.
“We’ve got such an opportunity,” he added.
But some Republicans cautioned that Trump could overplay his hand if he takes too strong a role in legislative negotiations.
“We’re independent. I mean, we’re a co-equal branch of government. Sometimes we forget that the president doesn’t rule over the Senate and the House. I think that was the mistake that he learned the first time,” said Representative Kevin Hern, who chairs the conservative Republican Study Group.
Hern said he will be among lawmakers who meet with Trump on Sunday.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Scott Malone and Howard Goller)
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