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IN THIS EDITION

Inside Trump’s meeting with Senate GOP. Plus, Johnson’s leg director is leaving

Is reconciliation the best place for the debt limit?

Jeffries to host DNC candidates in competitive chair race

Despite ICC controversy, lawmakers plan to attend Munich Security Conference

Donald Trump Jr. will host inauguration week kickoff event

THE TOP

Inside Trump’s meeting with Senate GOP. Plus, Johnson’s leg director is leaving

Happy Thursday morning.

President-elect Donald Trump doesn’t much care how Congress passes his legislative agenda. But he has decided that the best way forward is to play to the lowest common denominator — House Republicans and Speaker Mike Johnson.

Trump made this clear Wednesday night when, during a closed-door meeting with Senate Republicans, he repeatedly backed Johnson’s preferred strategy on budget reconciliation — crafting one massive package covering tax cuts, spending cuts, immigration, energy policy and more. This came even as GOP senators were trying to convince him otherwise.

The 90-minute meeting featured several Republican senators making their pitches to Trump on why a two-step process is the best way to accomplish his agenda.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune was among those trying to persuade Trump, in addition to GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham (S.C.), Ted Cruz (Texas) and John Hoeven (N.D.), according to multiple Republicans in the room.

Cruz told reporters afterward that opting for a one-bill route would amount to “putting all the eggs in one basket and risking not getting the votes.”

Trump engaged with senators in real time to push back against their arguments. Trump repeatedly used his “one big beautiful bill” line, mostly relying on Johnson’s talking points on why a one-bill strategy is best. Each time, Trump deferred to what Johnson had the ability to pass — a response that frustrated many Senate Republicans in the room. Trump was especially spun up during Graham’s speech, we’re told.

While Trump was endorsing Johnson’s strategy, he wasn’t doing so in a way that complimented the speaker. In fact, Trump made clear that he was aware Johnson and House Republicans are the weakest link in the GOP trifecta that will control Washington starting in a couple of weeks.

Near the end of the meeting, Thune asked Trump if he’d consider splitting his agenda into two bills if significant roadblocks emerge with one mega-bill. Trump said yes but maintained that he wants Republicans to aim for one comprehensive bill.

What’s next? Republican senators emerged from the meeting fearing that nothing had really changed — that their internecine strategic dispute over how to approach reconciliation would continue, and that Trump’s agenda could suffer as a result.

“People are still overlooking the fact that we need to pass a budget first. That means at least 50 of us in the Senate and… almost all [Republican] members of the House have to agree to the same budget. And then the hard work begins,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) told us. “I worry — I hope we don’t squander an opportunity here while there’s a bit of wind at our backs.”

And that’s before even getting into the details of the legislative package. On that front, there were already some warning signs coming out of Wednesday’s meeting.

When asked what Trump proposed as pay-fors, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Trump once again called for “big, beautiful tariffs.” Paul went on to disparage this idea. He’s not alone on this.

Noms update: Partisan tensions are building in the Senate over confirming Trump’s Cabinet nominees.

On Wednesday, Senate Energy Committee Chair Mike Lee (R-Utah) noticed a confirmation hearing for Doug Burgum, Trump’s nominee for interior secretary, despite objections from the panel’s top Democrat, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

Heinrich said Lee had skirted Senate precedent by scheduling a hearing before a nominee’s paperwork had been completed and submitted to the committee. Lee countered that Burgum had submitted all required documents. Lee also said he expects the Office of Government Ethics to provide its information on Burgum to the committee by the time the hearing takes place.

Late Wednesday night, Lee again noticed a Jan. 15 confirmation hearing over Heinrich’s objections. This time, it’s for Trump’s energy secretary nominee, Chris Wright. In a letter we obtained, Heinrich said the Democratic side of the panel hasn’t yet received Wright’s financial disclosure forms.

News: Dan Ziegler, Johnson’s policy director, is leaving the speaker’s office. Ziegler has been with Johnson since November 2023. Previously, Ziegler was a lobbyist at Williams and Jensen and the executive director of the Republican Study Committee. Here’s Johnson on Ziegler’s departure:

— Andrew Desiderio, Max Cohen and Jake Sherman

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DEBT LIMIT WATCH

Is reconciliation the best place for the debt limit?

Speaker Mike Johnson has been pretty firm: the best place for Congress to lift the debt limit is in the gigantic reconciliation bill that will carry President-elect Donald Trump’s legislative priorities.

But is this actually the best option? Some key Capitol Hill Republicans are beginning to ask that question.

The downsides are quite obvious to skilled congressional hands.

If Republicans use the reconciliation package to increase the debt limit, they’d have to increase the borrowing cap by a certain number – trillions of dollars – not just suspend the borrowing limit until a specific date. This would be a tough pill to swallow for many hardline conservative Republicans who hate voting for a debt-limit increase anyway.

Furthermore, there are a number of Senate Republicans — Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), most notably — who say that lifting the debt limit in the budget reconciliation package could kill the bill.

“The speaker of the House may want to, but I would say there’s 38 [House] members — most of the Freedom Caucus and some conservative members over here — who don’t want it to be part of reconciliation,” Paul told us Wednesday. Paul was referring to the House Republicans who voted no on a government-funding bill that included a debt-limit suspension.

On top of that, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) warned it would be the most difficult piece of the reconciliation package in the House. Smith was totally non-committal on whether it’s the right path, repeatedly deferring to GOP leadership’s decision-making.

Here’s what Smith told us:

Smith pointed out that there are still a couple of Republicans — Reps. Andy Biggs (Ariz.) and Tim Burchett (Tenn.) — who’ve never voted for a debt limit increase in their entire time in Washington. Not to mention, there are dozens of House Republican freshmen who have never voted on the issue yet.

Smith said House GOP leadership still needs to figure out if the debt-limit piece can even get the votes since it will have to be Republicans alone without any Democratic support. “I’ll do whatever is necessary, but they just need to be realistic,” Smith added.

And part of being realistic is that House Republicans soon will be down to a one-vote margin soon – at least until April.

There’s another significant downside here: If Republicans put the debt limit in the reconciliation bill, the entire process will be driven by the Treasury Department’s deadline of when the borrowing limit needs to be increased. That’s why some Republicans have looked toward the March CR as a better alternative.

Some senior Republicans also believe that approach would pick up some Democratic support as well since there are some who’d vote yes due to concerns of a government shutdown or an even more devastating debt default.

Yet the problem there is that Democrats won’t approve the kind of spending cuts Republicans will need to offset extending the 2017 Trump tax cuts without further increasing the deficit.

– Jake Sherman, Melanie Zanona and Laura Weiss

DNC UPDATE

Jeffries to host DNC candidates in competitive chair race

News: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will hold a candidate forum for DNC candidates.

The candidate forum is a sign that House Democratic leadership is responding to interest from its rank-and-file members in electing a DNC chair who will prioritize winning back the House in 2026.

The leading candidates running for DNC chair include Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler, Minnesota DFL Party Chair Ken Martin, former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley and New York state Sen. James Skoufis.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has endorsed Wikler, calling him “a tenacious organizer.” But apart from that, Jeffries — and most of the congressional Democratic leadership — have been mum on who they’re throwing their support behind.

Endorsement news: Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), a former DNC chair and vice presidential candidate, is backing O’Malley for DNC chair, hailing him as “a superb communicator and a proven political winner.”

Kaine’s endorsement comes after O’Malley won the endorsement of prominent current and former Congressional Black Caucus members, including Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). However, the CBC as a group is not currently planning to endorse.

Most of the early endorsements have come from lawmakers in the home states of the major candidates.

Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks endorsed O’Malley as their choice, while Wisconsin Sen. Tammy Baldwin threw her support behind Wikler, her home state option.

Democrats are hoping to shore up their messaging and party appeal after losing both chambers of Congress and the White House to Republicans.

The DNC chair election is scheduled for Feb. 1.

— Mica Soellner and Max Cohen

WASHINGTON X THE WORLD

Despite ICC controversy, lawmakers plan to attend Munich Security Conference

Members of Congress are still planning to attend the Munich Security Conference next month despite public concerns over a conference official’s stance on Israel.

Conference Chair Christoph Heusgen set off a controversy when he said Germany should enforce the International Criminal Court’s warrant and arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu if he sets foot in the country.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who traditionally co-leads the congressional delegation to Munich, responded to Heusgen’s comments last week by saying the conference “is now very much in doubt.”

Heusgen’s statement comes as House and Senate Republicans are planning on quickly moving through a bill through Congress imposing sanctions on the ICC. The controversy threatened to derail plans to attend the conference, an important meeting point for U.S. and European defense leaders.

But multiple members we spoke to told us they were still coordinating with Graham to plan their trip to the flagship international security conference, one that’s only grown more important since Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

Graham’s office told us they’re hopeful the issue “works itself out” but maintained that Heusgen’s comments “were beyond offensive.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), the Democratic co-lead on the Munich delegation, plans on attending the conference this year.

Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) also told us he wants to attend and said he was in contact with Graham. Another Munich stalwart, Rep. Donald Norcross (D-N.J.), is also planning on going.

— Max Cohen, Andrew Desiderio and Mica Soellner

THE MONEY GAME

Donald Trump Jr. will host inauguration week kickoff event

News: Donald Trump Jr. is hosting an inauguration kickoff dinner on Jan. 17 that’s expected to include most Senate Republicans, the entire incoming Trump administration Cabinet, CEOs and senior GOP officials.

The event will be at the Conrad Hotel in downtown D.C.

The co-hosts of the event are Arthur Schwartz, a Trump-world insider and adviser to corporate executives; Jeff Miller, a GOP super-lobbyist, the founder of Miller Strategies and the finance chair of the Presidential Inaugural Committee; Michael Goldfarb, the publisher of the Washington Free Beacon; Pam Brewster, a donor adviser; and Vu Ritchie, the head of government relations for Stephens Inc., the investment bank founded and owned by Arkansas billionaire Warren Stephens, the nominee to be ambassador to the United Kingdom.

The former speaker. Squire Patton Boggs is hosting a fundraiser on Jan. 22 for Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) featuring former Speaker John Boehner, also of Ohio. The event costs between $1,000 and $5,000 to attend.

– Jake Sherman

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