President Trump on Tuesday said Senate Republicans should lock themselves in a room if needed to strike a deal on his legislative agenda and work with the House on changes so the package can speed to his desk by July Fourth.
“Now that we have made PEACE abroad, we must finish the job here at home by passing ’THE GREAT, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ and getting the Bill to my desk, ASAP,” the president posted on social media. “It will be a Historic Present for THE GREAT PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, as we begin the Celebration of our Country’s 250th Birthday.”
The Senate has spent weeks working on changes to the House-passed version of the bill and is hoping to bring it to a vote this week.
But Senate Republicans have yet to lock down enough votes for passage and are also having to tweak several provisions the Senate parliamentarian has ruled out of compliance with the chamber’s rules for budget reconciliation, the filibuster-proof process to advance the package without Democrats’ support.
“To my friends in the Senate, lock yourself in a room if you must, don’t go home, and GET THE DEAL DONE THIS WEEK,” Mr. Trump said. “Work with the House so they can pick it up, and pass it, IMMEDIATELY. NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE.”
Both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in recess next week for the July Fourth holiday, but Republican leaders plan to keep their members in Washington if needed to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, has said his chamber will remain in session until it passes the bill, which could mean votes that stretch into the weekend or early next week.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said lawmakers are “on target” to get the bill to Mr. Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July.
“I’ve told our members … keep your schedules flexible,” he said.
The speaker said Senate Republicans are “going through the five stages of grief on their individual preferences” for the bill but he believes their final product will hew closely to the House-passed bill.
“I remain very optimistic that there is not going to be a wide chasm between the two products,” he said.
Mr. Johnson mentioned a limit on the state and local tax deduction and the phase out of clean energy credits under President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act as two areas where negotiations were ongoing.
Mr. Trump has yet to weigh in on his preference for the former, but on Saturday he posted on social media that he wanted a full repeal of the IRA credits, which he calls the “green new scam.”
In addition to his social media pressure, Mr. Trump has been working behind the scenes to help secure support for the package.
He met with Senate GOP fiscal hawks, Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mike Lee of Utah, at the White House on Monday.
Mr. Scott said Mr. Trump reiterated that “he wants a full repeal of the IRA” and touched on fiscal hawks’ concerns about the deficit.
“He wants to balance the budget, and he understands the need to make sure that Medicaid protects the vulnerable Americans, which is what I’ve been talking about all along,” Mr. Scott said. “We got to direct the dollars to where it’s poor kids and people with chronic illness, rather than able-bodied adults who don’t want to work.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.