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January 8, 2025
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THE TOP
Senate GOP to meet with Trump as Thune takes control
Happy Wednesday morning.
President-elect Donald Trump will meet with Senate Republicans tonight on Capitol Hill.
GOP leaders are hoping the confab gets them closer to a concrete plan to advance Trump’s agenda on border security and tax cuts, even as the president-elect continues to play both sides of the one-bill versus two-bill debate on reconciliation.
Senate Republican leaders want the internecine dispute to end in order to move forward on crafting a budget reconciliation bill, the legislative vehicle that will carry the bulk of Trump’s priorities.
GOP senators are anxious to hear directly from Trump so they can get started on reconciliation — “end this charade,” in the words of one Republican senator.
The question of whether to accomplish these goals through one or two bills may seem unimportant. Yet the longer it takes for Republicans and Trump to get on the same page, the less likely it is that Trump will notch the big early legislative win he craves. Eight years ago, the Senate had already passed a budget resolution — the first step in the process — before Trump even took office.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said Trump “is going to have to be” more forceful, adding: “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.”
Others, however, think Trump’s waffling means Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson should work it out among themselves.
“I don’t know why this is such a big deal,” said a frustrated Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.). “We’re going to work the will of the chambers. It’s that simple.”
Which brings us to one of the Republicans at the center of everything – Thune.
The Thune Way: Republican senators describe the 64-year-old Thune (his birthday was Tuesday) as an open and honest communicator who tries his best to make everyone happy. Thune’s watchword is deference. This isn’t former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell.
Yet at some point, Thune is going to have to make decisions that’ll make GOP senators — or more importantly, Trump — unhappy.
Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.) told us Thune “has the ability to be assertive without being heavy-handed,” a skill he believes will help Trump be successful. Having served as GOP whip for the last six years, Thune knows the conference well. He also has a direct line to Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance.
But what Thune lacks is the same type of relationship with Trump that Johnson enjoys. Johnson has been much more willing to make constant trips to Mar-a-Lago to stay on the president’s radar.
Thune acknowledged on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last weekend that his relationship with Trump is “evolving” but noted their goals and incentives are aligned. Thune also has a conference that runs the gamut from MAGA firebrands to anti-Trump moderates. And the South Dakota Republican has a personal style that’s nothing like Trump’s.
Thune seems to believe that his preferred two-bill strategy for reconciliation is still possible, but he’s mindful of Johnson’s political realities. It’s why Thune isn’t publicly trashing the one-bill argument, telling us on Tuesday that he wants the meeting tonight to be about “what’s the best path forward for implementing [Trump’s] agenda.”
At the same time, the pair has to navigate looming deadlines on government funding and the debt limit, two areas in which their strategic preferences may be at odds.
Johnson has said he wants to address the debt limit as part of reconciliation, but there are real doubts about whether House Republicans will be able to pass any reconciliation package that includes a debt-limit boost, no matter what’s in the rest of the legislation.
Government funding is also a big challenge. The current CR expires on March 14. There’s no agreement on how to finish the FY2025 funding bills, while Trump is promising significant spending cuts to offset tax cuts.
Spending cuts come with a political price, however, one that Republican moderates may balk at if party leaders go too far.
Noms latest: There will be several confirmation hearings for Trump’s Cabinet picks next week. Very few of those nominees will be ready for Senate floor action on Inauguration Day. Even fewer will actually get confirmed on the afternoon of Jan. 20.
Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer are already in talks over who could be confirmed on Trump’s first day in office. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), the secretary of state nominee, is seen as the likeliest, according to leadership sources in both parties. But it’s unclear who — if anyone — makes the list after that.
Senate Republicans can only confirm nominees on Inauguration Day if all 100 senators agree to a quick vote. Absent that, the nominees would need to go through regular order, which takes several days.
Senate GOP leaders also want to prioritize national security nominees, but as we noted last week, those are some of Trump’s most controversial picks. And even if any of those are ready by Jan. 20, it’s difficult to see Democrats agreeing to fast-track their confirmation votes.
Other Trump nominees, such as former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (Hawaii) and Pam Bondi, are facing paperwork-related delays that could push their hearings back a few days.
But paperwork delays won’t dictate the outcomes here. Bondi is likely to be confirmed, while Gabbard’s prospects will be determined largely by the contents of her FBI backgrounder and how she handles any upcoming confirmation hearing.
— Andrew Desiderio and John Bresnahan
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CONGRESSIONAL DEMS
Hill Dems embrace incoming Trump administration. Kind of
After their stinging losses in the November election, House and Senate Democrats are actively weighing ways to work with the Trump administration — a far cry from the resistance era of President-elect Donald Trump’s first term eight years ago.
Several Democrats told us they’re open to teaming up with Trump but made clear they’re picking and choosing their spots. Some potential areas of common ground Democrats listed include the border and immigration, economic issues and the so-called “DOGE” effort, which will aim to root out wasteful government spending.
And their bipartisan appetite has already been put to the test in the new Congress. Forty-eight House Democrats voted for The Laken Riley Act on Tuesday, 11 more than the number who voted for the measure last Congress. Still, the vast majority of House Democrats — 159 — opposed the legislation.
The bill, which gives ICE more authority to detain criminally accused undocumented immigrants, will begin the process of getting a Senate vote later this week.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said the uptick in support from his party reflects how Democrats are digesting the election results, noting immigration was “on the ballot” in November.
“I don’t think the American people want extremism, but they do want changes at the border,” he told us. “On some of these issues, we were to the left of the American people.”
A large chunk of the House Democrats who voted for the legislation hail from frontline districts, making their support partly an act of political protection. Across the Capitol, Democratic senators up for reelection in battleground states — such as Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan — are also expected to back the bill.
“We should pursue every opportunity around border security and immigration reform,” Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio.) said. “That’s number one, and number two is getting costs down.”
But some of the House Democrats who flipped their position represent safer blue districts, such as Reps. Brendan Boyle (D-Pa.), Lucy McBath (D-Ga.) and Terri Sewell (D-Ala.).
Even progressive firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said she’s willing to work with the incoming Trump administration on bipartisan issues — as long as they’re consistent with her values.
“The reason why I think oftentimes Democrats occasionally lose elections is because we’re too reflexively anti-Republican, and that we don’t lean into an ambitious vision for working-class Americans strongly enough,” Ocasio-Cortez told us.
Another progressive, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), told us he’s eager to work with Trump’s team on the DOGE initiative. He’s already been in direct contact with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy about the effort.
Meanwhile, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) expressed skepticism about Trump following through on some campaign proposals that interested progressive Democrats, but indicated he was open to working with the administration too. Casar specifically cited Trump’s push to cap credit card interest — a plan backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“We’re here to support good policies like that,” Casar told us.
The leadership view. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is taking a cautious approach so far.
In his speech introducing Mike Johnson after the speaker vote, Jeffries said there’s an “opportunity to put down partisan swords.” Jeffries specifically name-checked bringing down the cost of living, fixing the broken immigration system and securing the border.
But Jeffries also added: “At the same time, we will push back against far-right extremism whenever necessary.”
Asked whether Johnson would be willing to work with Democrats, the speaker said Tuesday: “It can’t just be empty rhetoric. It’s got to be action.”
But Republicans are planning to address many of the areas that would be ripe for bipartisanship — such as border security or raising the cap on the state and local tax dedication — in a reconciliation package. In other words, they’re planning to cut Democrats out of the process entirely.
— Mica Soellner and Melanie Zanona
TECH IN COURT
The Trump-GOP tensions over TikTok
The Supreme Court will hear arguments Friday on whether to overturn or postpone implementation of a law to effectively ban TikTok in the United States.
It’s getting awkward for Republicans — including key members of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming national security team.
The law was the work of GOP China hawks and passed with big, bipartisan margins in both chambers last year. But Trump is pushing the justices to delay its start date this month so he can try to find a “political resolution” to avoid the shutdown of one of the most popular social media platforms in the country.
That’s not what many Republicans had in mind when they championed the law. Some are now pushing back at having the Court proclaim anything other than the law meets constitutional muster.
“I hope they uphold what Congress did,” House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) told us. “It’s absolutely constitutional.”
The leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Reps. John Moolenaar (R-Mich.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), have also weighed in, asking the justices to affirm the law.
Other bill supporters are trying to avoid taking a side.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said the law is constitutional, but that he isn’t opposed to delaying the deadline to find a political resolution.
“As long as we accomplish divestment by the CCP,” he told us.
Meet the new boss… Two of the law’s most fervent supporters are Trump’s pick to be his secretary of state, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), and his incoming national security adviser Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.). Here’s Rubio in late 2022.
So what do Rubio and Waltz think about their soon-to-be boss’ attempt to make an end route around the law?
Rubio’s office didn’t respond to our request for comment.
Waltz declined to answer our questions last week when we approached him heading to the floor for the speaker vote.
The law requires TikTok’s China-based owner, ByteDance, to sell the app to an American company or otherwise face a ban on Jan. 19. Its supporters argue it will protect American consumers from Chinese propaganda and having their personal data pilfered by the Chinese Communist Party. ByteDance is suing on free speech grounds.
— Diego Areas Munhoz
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THE HOUSE
Bipartisan House group readies proxy voting resolution
News: A bipartisan group of House members will propose a measure on Thursday that would allow new parents to vote via proxy.
Reps. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) and Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) are the leaders of the effort.
Note: This isn’t a privileged resolution, so there’s no mechanism for the members to force the vote.
Last Congress, Luna tried to secure a commitment from Speaker Mike Johnson to schedule a vote on her proposal to extend proxy voting privileges to new mothers. But Johnson never agreed to Luna’s demands and the push went nowhere.
The House instituted proxy voting during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the policy was widely abused by members, and when Republicans won back the House, then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy banned proxy voting in early 2023.
The issue is personal for these members: Pettersen is due to give birth in the coming months and Luna gave birth last year.
— Max Cohen
DOWNTOWN DOWNLOAD
Job Move. Sarah Burke, the deputy Republican staff director for the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is joining the Aquia Group. Burke has served as deputy chief of staff for Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and member services director for the House Republican Conference under former Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.).
Aquia lobbies for Amazon Web Services, Anthropic, Fanduel and Southern Company, among many others.
Downtown Download. The Ballard Group, a firm with close ties to Trump world, has signed another four clients: Fluence Energy, Lasco Trust, The Invictus Collective and Diabetic Wound Awareness PAC.
— John Bresnahan and Jake Sherman
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