Speaker Mike Johnson will confront an increasingly anxious House GOP today at Donald Trump’s Doral resort, where they’re holding their annual policy retreat through Wednesday.
The big complication: Republicans need to decide which of Trump’s priorities need to be included in their party-line budget reconciliation plan, which is set to touch everything from energy to border security to tax policy, versus the separate, bipartisan spending bill that Republicans have to pass before mid-March.
Members are getting impatient for more details on both of those packages. After all, the government shutdown deadline is March 14, Congress needs to raise the debt ceiling in the coming months to avoid a default, and — under Johnson’s latest timeline — the House Budget Committee is set to meet next week to finalize a reconciliation blueprint.
“We need to have a sense of urgency with the debt ceiling coming,” Rep. Barry Moore (R-Ala.), a member of the hard-right Freedom Caucus, told Meredith. “I hope there’s options at this point.”
Here’s what else we’re watching this week:
Nominees: Senate Majority Leader John Thune got his first big win of the new Congress by getting Pete Hegseth confirmed as Defense secretary on Friday. But there are other controversial nominees coming up — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for HHS secretary, Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Kash Patel as FBI director. They’re all facing committee hearings midweek.
ICC bill: The Senate is expected to vote Tuesday to advance a bill that would sanction the International Criminal Court, putting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in a bit of a bind as Democrats try to negotiate a more bipartisan measure. If seven Democrats join all Republicans to move forward on the legislation, his chances at a cross-party deal drop significantly.
Inspecting inspector generals: Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) acknowledged Trump might have acted illegally by firing a dozen inspectors general, saying in a statement he wants further explanation from Trump, as current law dictates the president must give Congress 30 days’ notice, including a “substantive rationale,” before dismissing agency watchdogs.
Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.
