Senate and House Republicans Split on Passing Trump’s Agenda Over 2-Bill Approach

The Senate will begin preparations for a two-bill reconciliation process, which is at odds with the House’s plan of one bill.
Senate and House Republicans Split on Passing Trump’s Agenda Over 2-Bill Approach
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks at a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on state, foreign operations, and related programs hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 21, 2024. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
Arjun Singh
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WASHINGTON—The Senate and House of Representatives’s Republican Conferences are moving in opposite directions on legislation to turn President Donald Trump’s policy initiatives into law.

For weeks, Republicans in Congress have been discussing the “budget reconciliation process” as a method of passing conservative policy legislation without securing Democratic support in the Senate, where under normal circumstances at least 60 senators need to support a bill to invoke “cloture” and pass it, overcoming a filibuster. Given Republicans’ 53-seat majority, the likelihood of receiving seven Democratic votes is low.