President Donald Trump’s desire for “one, big, beautiful” reconciliation bill from Congress continues to meet resistance in the U.S. Senate, it was reported Monday.
Although House Republicans moved their massive tax cut and border security package closer to a floor vote by advancing it out of the Budget Committee on Sunday night, GOP senators said the legislation has “problems,” The Hill reported.
The outlet said several Republican senators said it might be better to break up the bill into two or three pieces and initially pass the elements of Trump’s agenda that have the most support among lawmakers.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., first proposed that approach in December.
“If the bill continues to have problems over here, we could split it up,” one GOP senator told The Hill. “Thune was smart to say from the beginning that there should be two packages.”
The senator said funds for border security are desperately needed while lawmakers hash out the tax proposals.
“We’ve heard from the border patrol chief that, ‘We need this, that and other thing, and we needed it yesterday,'” the senator said, The Hill reported. “The debate over the tax and spending elements are likely to drag through the summer.”
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is looking to put the House bill on the floor before the end of the week. Upon passage, it would move to the Senate.
Moderate Republicans in the upper chamber have expressed opposition to proposed cuts to Medicaid, while fiscal conservatives have said the House legislation doesn’t go nearly far enough in cutting the deficit.
“There are still a lot of problems,” another publican senator told The Hill.
Sen. Ron Johnson told Newsmax on Thursday that the House should look to the example set by the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to find real savings for American taxpayers.
“I’ve always been in favor of a multi-step process,” Johnson said on “Wake Up America.” “Focus on the top priorities, the things we agree on, recognizing that the one big, beautiful bill is really complex.”
Johnson said a first bill could focus on border security and extending the Trump tax cuts.
Senate Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, has been non-committal on the multi-bill strategy. His committee has primary jurisdiction over taxes and Medicaid.
“The two or bill strategy? I didn’t weigh in on that [earlier this year] and I’m not weighing in on it now,” Crapo said, The Hill reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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