Republicans in Congress have a contentious couple of weeks coming up as infighting over a new spending bill heats up, according to a new report.
The Hill reported on Sunday that Republicans are trying to pass a new funding bill for the Department of Defense as a third GOP-only bill through reconciliation, the same process they used to pass President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill Act” last year. But the move is putting Republicans at odds with one another, and is being further complicated by Trump’s shifting priorities, the report added.
“That process can generally be used a limited number of times in a year, giving the GOP trifecta two more chances to use the process to usher legislation to Trump’s desk,” the report reads in part. “Republicans are using the second shot at reconciliation on a ‘skinny’ bill to fund immigration enforcement and border security, as part of a solution to end the record-long Department of Homeland Security shutdown; and fiscal hawks are anxious to not waste their third final shot at reconciliation before the end of the year.”
Even though Republicans have successfully used the reconciliation process in the past, choosing to do it again has rubbed some party members the wrong way.
“Well, show us what they want to do,” Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) told The Hill. “I’m always inclined against reconciliation bills, because I don’t like single-party solutions. I never have. I voted against multiple Democrat and Republican reconciliation bills, because they’re single-party solutions.”
Fitzpatrick’s support for a bipartisan deal puts him at odds with other Republicans, such as Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX), who want to complete the reconciliation process before the August recess, according to the report.
“We’re going to have to move quickly,” Arrington told the outlet. “I think we have 25 legislative days left before August break. We need to have something out of the House by then, at least. So, time is of the essence.”
This is happening at a time when Trump seems to be pulling the Republican Party in competing directions, the report noted. It pointed to issues like Trump’s anti-fraud campaign at home and the war in Iran as issues that seem to be taking up a lot of airspace within the GOP.
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