Republicans Work on Megabill Game Plan

As House Republicans wrapped up their three-day retreat in Florida, leaders said they are focused on passing another party-line megabill.

“As we advance a strong America First agenda, there is real momentum for Reconciliation 2.0. We had productive conversations with our committee chairs about policies that could move forward,” House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain told The Daily Signal in a statement on Wednesday at the end of the retreat.

A Budget reconciliation bill, such as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, is a 10-year budget framework that allows for major changes in taxation and spending without needing 60 votes in the Senate.

With Republicans in control of both chambers, this means they could enact sweeping changes without a single Democrat vote. Under the rules that govern the process, every provision in the bill must be primarily budgetary.

“House Republicans and President [Donald] Trump will keep building on this progress and delivering results for the American people,” McClain, who represents Michigan’s 9th District, added.

In July 2025, Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act—which House Republicans now refer to as the “Working Families Tax Cut.”

The bill prevented Trump’s 2017 tax cuts from expiring, while also funding border enforcement, eliminating green energy subsidies, and applying work requirements to Medicaid.

Democrats used reconciliation bills, such as the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, as major legislative vehicles for President Joe Biden’s agenda, as well.

During a press conference at the retreat, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., said Republicans were working to find the “handful of issues … that every Republican can agree on.”

He explained, “The central theme of all of this is that we are going to continue … working to lower the cost of living … and also to stamp out fraud, waste, and abuse. You’ve seen the fraud that’s been put on display in states like Minnesota.”

Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, who chairs the House Budget Committee, suggested to Politico that another reconciliation bill could tackle waste and fraud in government programs, while also providing necessary funding for defense.

But some key figures have expressed skepticism about the possibility of creating a product that all Republicans can unite on.

Rep. Jason Smith, R-Mo., who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee, which deals with taxation, told NOTUS, “If we can find a way to unify the conference on something, it would be excellent and brilliant,” but added that he does not “see a path.”

Smith’s committee was instrumental in extending Trump’s tax cuts and building on them with a “no tax on tips” policy and an expanded tax deduction for seniors.

In 2025, leadership in the House and the Senate pointed to the imminent expiration of the tax cuts as a compelling reason for Republicans to unite around a package.

To become law, a future reconciliation bill would also have to pass the Senate, where Vice President JD Vance had to cast the tie-breaking vote in July 2025 to pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., who voted for the last budget reconciliation bill, said Tuesday he would only vote for another reconciliation bill “if we actually made sizable progress in terms of returning to a reasonable pre-pandemic level of spending.”

He told reporters, “I think you’re all aware of the fact I was not a big fan of One Big Beautiful Bill, because it simply missed the moment.”

Johnson pointed to the difficulty of passing a megabill without the pressure of having to prevent an automatic tax increase.

“What we don’t have is something that really united us—preventing a massive three to four trillion-dollar tax increase,” he said. “The first reconciliation package, I wouldn’t have voted for it without that.”

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