If you want to get a sense of the challenges facing Speaker Mike Johnson as he pursues a third reconciliation bill, just listen to what Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) said on Fly Out Day this week.
Fitzpatrick, one of the House’s leading moderates who represents a district Kamala Harris won in 2024, said he would vote for Reconciliation 2.0, which seeks to fund ICE and Border Patrol.
But when it comes to Reconciliation 3.0, Fitzpatrick is much more skeptical.
We told him that House GOP leaders — Johnson and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise — are talking about a third reconciliation bill.
Here was Fitzpatrick’s response: “Do they know how to count to 218?”
“You never say no to something you haven’t seen. I don’t like reconciliation bills. I have now, in my eight years in Congress, have voted against multiple Republican reconciliation bills, multiple Democratic reconciliation bills.
“I don’t like them. They’re single party solutions. … The country does not want single party solutions, and moreover, they’re not sustainable.”
GOP moderates like Fitzpatrick have a lot to be skeptical about. In order to fill a third reconciliation bill with GOP priorities, House Republican leaders would almost definitely have to agree to spending cuts. They will call it eliminating waste, fraud and abuse.
That’s going to be very difficult for a lawmaker like Fitzpatrick, who is from one of the toughest GOP-held districts in America. Fitzpatrick and Rep. Thomas Massie (Ky.) were the only House Republicans to vote no on the One Big Beautiful Bill. Fitzpatrick also supported extending the Obamacare subsidies last year, which GOP leaders opposed.
Also: Fitzpatrick said Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro will win re-election in 2026 and should run for president in 2028.
“Josh is a good man and he’s a friend. Yes, I do think he should run for president. Why not? I think anybody that wants to run should run. I think Josh is very, very smart. I have a really good relationship with him. I invited him to my wedding. I hope he comes.
“And no, I think he’s done a really, really good job for Pennsylvania. And I think every party’s got their unique politics, and I hope that that doesn’t stop him from doing what he wants to do.”
