EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Push To Pass More Of Trump’s Agenda In Reconciliation 2.0
More than a dozen House Republicans have banded together to urge the party to pass a second reconciliation bill aimed at further codifying President Donald Trump’s agenda ahead of the midterm elections.
As the SAVE America bill stalls in the Senate, the group of lawmakers is turning to the conservative Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) pre-existing framework for reconciliation policies. Unlike most pieces of legislation, the megabill requires a simple majority to pass, and some lawmakers — including House Speaker Mike Johnson — see it as the best step forward to achieving more of the president’s priorities while Republicans occupy both chambers of Congress. (RELATED: John Kennedy Gets on His Knees Begging John Thune for Another Reconciliation Bill)
“EDS [Department of Homeland Security] “The shutdown and blocking of the SAVE America Act has removed all doubt: There is not a single Democratic vote awaiting us in the Senate,” Texas Republican Rep. August Pfluger, RSC chairman, told the Daily Caller News Foundation in an exclusive statement. “We have no path to 60 and we cannot afford to wait. Democrats did not hesitate to use their trifecta to pass two reconciliation bills, and nor should we.”
Johnson has long been optimistic about a second reconciliation bill and discussed the possibility with House Republicans at their annual political retreat Tuesday. There is still some reluctance within the party over whether the bill can pass amid the GOP’s razor-thin majority in the House and the fast-approaching midterms, but some lawmakers are pointing to the framework the RSC released in January 2026 as discussions on the legislation accelerate.
“President Johnson is right that this bill does not have to be this big to be this beautiful, and the RSC framework gives us exactly the foundation we need to move forward,” Pfluger added in his statement.
The broad outlines of the RSC megabill include policy priorities such as homeownership, affordable health care, energy independence and economic security. Several other proposals were made during the retreat, including the inclusion of additional funding for the U.S. military as the war with Iran continues and legislation to target fraud in blue states. The committee also built an artificial intelligence (AI) tool designed to analyze Byrd Rule documents and generate compliant legislative text to preempt Democratic challenges.
Senators are also interested in a second megabill.
Some members of the upper chamber, such as Republican Sens. James Lankford of Oklahoma and John Kennedy of Louisiana, are intrigued by the possibility of using reconciliation to tackle issues they say have gone unaddressed for too long.
“There are a lot of fraud issues that I would like to be able to address that have persisted for a very long time,” Lankford told DCNF of additional policies in another reconciliation bill. “It seems like we can never get a vote to resolve this issue.”
Pretty please, with sugar on top.
I’ll even add a McRib coupon.
Let’s pass another reconciliation bill to address the issues that worry moms and dads when they can’t lie down at night to sleep. pic.twitter.com/rC6L5f0wvn
– John Kennedy (@SenJohnKennedy) December 12, 2025
Even some House and Senate Democrats have refused to rule out the possible need for additional funding for the Iran conflict, and several Upper House Republicans told DCNF they would support providing that funding through another reconciliation bill.
“Reconciliation gives Republicans a powerful opportunity to deliver real relief to American families, and we intend to use it,” Virginia Republican Rep. Ben Cline, RSC vice chairman, said in a statement to DCNF.
Trump reportedly did not mention reconciliation once during his hour-long speech at the retreat, despite pressure from Johnson to do so. Trump instead called on Republicans to pass the SAVE America Act, even if the process takes the rest of the current Congress. Some members, however, see focusing solely on voter ID legislation as a wasted opportunity to pass the president’s agenda and are eager to use the legislative tool before the midterm elections.
Nonetheless, some lawmakers are still hopeful that the Trump-backed election integrity bill can pass the Senate despite growing challenges to using the filibuster to pass it.
“We must turn the rest of President Trump’s America First agenda into law. Lower costs, more housing, expanded opportunity, and making the American dream affordable again,” Missouri Republican Rep. Mark Alford said in a statement to the DCNF. “Most importantly, we must get the SAVE America Act across the finish line. We can’t wait, America deserves results today.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday that he had discussed another reconciliation bill with Johnson and that they were having conversations with “the chairs of the relevant committees and our members to see what kinds of ideas they have for a possible reconciliation bill.”
Other Republicans still feel the need for deep cuts to pay another bill, like House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie and Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
“Reconciliation is our most powerful tool to end wasteful spending and stop piling debt on our children,” California Republican Rep. Tom McClintock said in a statement to DCNF. “Republicans can and must push this powerful tool as far as possible. »
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