Speaker Johnson promises budget plan is coming; other Republicans want it faster

House Speaker Mike Johnson vowed that a plan to pass President Trump’s agenda would be coming soon, but some Republicans want a blueprint faster. 

House Republicans have spent the first half of this week huddled at Mr. Trump’s golf and resort in Doral, Florida, hashing out the first steps of the budget reconciliation process, which is viewed by lawmakers as the prime legislative vehicle to carry much of the president’s agenda. 

Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, set an ambitious timeline to complete the process, which could wrap up by Memorial Day.

First, lawmakers need to concoct and pass a budget resolution that will guide the process onward and provide guardrails for spending levels and legislation. The speaker has set the end of February as a target for the resolution to pass. 

He promised on Wednesday that by the end of the GOP’s retreat, the House Budget Committee would have a blueprint for when it returns to Washington next week. 

He touted the member engagement throughout the meetings, noting that only 14 House Republicans weren’t involved in the process.

“Every single member will be involved,” he said. “When we say a bottom-up, member-driven process, that is by design and we are exactly where we are supposed to be on our timetable. This is all preplanned, and it’s coming together very well.” 

Still, some members want the speaker to make a play call. 

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, posted Wednesday on X that Republicans had no plan and noted that lawmakers had been presented with the same policy and budget-cut proposals for a month. 

“Basically, just get started doing something,” she said. 

Rep. Chip Roy, Texas Republican, was one of many lawmakers who opted not to attend the retreat. 

“I am in Texas, with my family & meeting with constituents, rather than spending $2K to hear more excuses for increasing deficits & not being in DC to deliver Trump’s border security ASAP,” Mr. Roy posted on X. 

Mr. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance spoke with House Republicans earlier in the week, but didn’t offer much direction on how to tackle their legislative priorities. The president affirmed that his main focus was on the border and reiterated that he was fine with one or two bills. 

Mr. Vance called for unity, something that Republican leaders echoed in their press conference Wednesday morning.  

“Our agenda is absolutely unstoppable if we remain united,” House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain of Michigan said. 

The last session of Congress proved that unity was hard to come by for the House GOP, particularly when it came to advancing legislation. 

Then there’s another wrinkle that could sow division within the GOP: Mr. Johnson may not include Mr. Trump’s dream of a debt hike into the reconciliation process. With reconciliation to raise the debt limit, Republicans wouldn’t have to work with Democrats; the process lets lawmakers skirt a filibuster in the Senate. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, said budget reconciliation is a powerful tool “to get the country back on track,” but acknowledged it’s not an easy process.

“We’ve been continuing to have honest discussions about the differences within our conference, and that is how we are going to come together to ultimately pass historic legislation for our country,” he said.