5 Big Decisions Republicans in Congress Have to Make Soon – TIME
Reeling from the defeat of their health care proposal last week, Republicans in Congress are regrouping and planning for the coming months. There are budget deadlines to meet and policy issues to tackle, ranging from tax reform to infrastructure .
But prospects for achieving major victories in the coming months looks dim. Many lawmakers are concerned that divisions in its ranks between conservatives and moderates will make it difficult to notch any major achievements in the coming months.
Things that you assumed could happen automatically, youd better now spend a lot more time on and make sure they occur, said Republican Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma.
Many have advocated looking beyond the partys own ranks and finding common ground with Democrats.
Weve got a lot of work to do, said Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona. One of the things we need to do and its going to be harder now, because we just failed is theres got to be bipartisanship.
Here are the five issues Republicans will have to work out.
How to defund Planned Parenthood
The government is set to partially shut down on April 28 unless Congress approves a spending package first. Republicans are deciding how many of their policy priorities to squeeze into the proposal without risking a government shutdown.
Planned Parenthood is one measure many Republicans want to see in the spending package due by the end of April. But Democrats could filibuster the government funding bill in the Senate, thereby forcing Republicans to decide whether they want to shut down the government.
That has made House Speaker Paul Ryan wary about defunding it through the April spending package, leading him to suggest defunding the womens health organization through a budget reconciliation measure instead.
The budget reconciliation will head off the risk of Senate filibuster from Democrats, as it only requires a simple majority to pass the upper chamber.
We think reconciliation is the tool, because that gets it into law, Ryan told reporters, responding to a question about Planned Parenthood funding. Reconciliation is the way to go."
If conservatives in the Republican conference object to Ryans delay, however, there could be a fight on the partys hands.
Whether to pay for a border wall
Another measure that some want to see in the government funding bill next month is funding for President Trumps proposed wall on the border with Mexico. It is a major campaign promise by the president, and one that galvanized many voters in Republican Congressional districts.
Does that need to be a presidential priority? Well hes made it one, said Randy Weber, Republican from Texas. Is there support for getting it in there? Unequivocally yes. Can they get it in? I dont know, well have to see.
Democrats have firmly objected, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer saying border wall funding would be a poison pill that would lead to a filibuster.
Whether to pursue the border adjustment tax
Tax reform is the next big item on the Republicans agenda. But rewriting the tax code is notoriously difficult, and there are strong divisions among Republicans about what would work best.
Republican leaders in the House have insisted that the best method would be through a 20% border adjustment which would tax goods consumed in the United States and slash the corporate tax rate. Its a revolutionary plan that would likely help domestic manufacturers like Boeing and hurt importers like Walmart , but it has enough skeptics in the Senate that it might be a pipe dream.
The conflict is setting up the GOP for another fight.
Whether to end the filibuster on the Supreme Court
It is looking increasingly likely that Democrats will have the votes needed to block the confirmation vote for Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, with Democratic senators from across the political spectrum saying they will oppose President Trump's nominee. That will force Senate Republicans to either back down, or trigger the so-called nuclear option , which would abolish the filibuster on Supreme Court nominees, and force Gorsuch through.
It is a difficult choice for Republicans. Many longtime senators are traditionalists and do not want to change the rules of the Senate. Abolishing the filibuster requires a majority in the Senate, so just two Republicans would need to get cold feet for the effort to fail, and thus sink Gorsuch's confirmation.
Still, even moderate Republicans with a longstanding respect for the Senate's rules are adamant that Gorsuch will get confirmed one way or another. "He will be confirmed," said McCain.
"We will confirm him. So whatever it takes, were going to have to do," Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah told National Journal .
Whether to try repealing Obamacare again
Republicans are not done with their effort to repeal Obamacare. After Fridays defeat, the House Republicans held a rousing conference meeting, where members committed again to finding a way to repeal Obamacare and replace it with a law that repeals certain regulations and reduces federal expenditures.
What shape that law will take is hard to know, and Republicans have not started drafting new ideas. The old, deep divisions in the party have not disappeared, and the hard-right members of the Freedom Caucus will still want a plan that looks very different from what moderates want.
Still, despite the difficulty of health care and all the other pressing matters President Trump promised to address, many members want to repeal Obamacare first .
If we just sit up here and play diddly-winks, itll hurt us, said Republican Rep. Morgan Griffith of Virginia. I think you need to do health care first.
The fact that we did not pass a bill next week doesnt mean we are not going to pass a billId love to see it pass next weekbut if its not next week, then its next month, said Republican Rep. Austin Scott of Georgia.
Until we decide what were doing with health care, everything is going to be a stumbling block, Republican Rep. Dennis Ross of Florida.
The rest is here:
5 Big Decisions Republicans in Congress Have to Make Soon - TIME
- Republicans Blame Canada for Wildfire Smoke Suffocating the U.S. - The New York Times - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Senate Republicans block attempt to roll back massive tax hike on professional gamblers - AP News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans run a risky strategy for holding the House that rests on redrawn maps - Politico - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- As Texas Republicans prepare for mid-decade redistricting, cautionary tales loom from the past - The Texas Tribune - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Trump warns Republicans against rejecting cuts to PBS and NPR - The Hill - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans probably shouldve read their far-right megabill before passing it - MSNBC News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans Are Changing Their Tune on Immigration: Poll - Newsweek - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Kelly: Republicans cut health care and food for AZ families so the wealthy could pay lower taxes - Arizona Mirror - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Think Democrats and Republicans can't work together? On sealing eviction records, they do. - Stateline - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- How Republicans Rejected A Texas Flood Warning System - The Lever - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Texas Republicans have a brazen new plan to block Democrats from retaking the House in 2026 - Mother Jones - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Ron Faucheux: Will the Big Beautiful Bill sink Republicans? - NOLA.com - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- The big, beautiful bill could get ugly for Republicans - The Hill - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans push for business sanction on sanctuary cities - NJ Spotlight News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Nicolle Wallace: Trump 'has turned Republicans in the Senate into ghosts' - MSN - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Jury finds former head of Island County Republicans guilty in Elections Office mask mandate case - Whidbey News-Times - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Charlie Kirk sounds the alarm on the biggest threat to Republicans holding the White House in 2028 - Fox News - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Jon Stewart Rips Republicans for Trying to Jedi Mind Trick Americans Into Thinking There Never Was an Epstein List | Video - Yahoo - July 12th, 2025 [July 12th, 2025]
- Republicans toe Trump line even in aftermath of deadly Texas floods - The Guardian - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Opinion | How Republicans can defy history and survive the midterms - The Washington Post - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- What the Big, Beautiful Bill Reveals About Republicans - Slate Magazine - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Are Republicans bowing to Trump even more than they used to? - KCRW - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- How Republicans sidelined the health care industry and pushed through historic Medicaid cuts - STAT - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republicans urge US universities to cut ties with 'nefarious' Chinese-backed scholarship program - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Full List of Republicans Who Voted To Slash Weather Forecasting Funding - Newsweek - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republicans are already getting hammered over the OBBB - Punchbowl News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Will Republicans in Virginia pay a price for the One Big Beautiful Bill? Here's what the math shows. - Cardinal News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- These Republicans fought for green energy tax credits. Trumps latest order could threaten them - Deseret News - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- 'Nefarious mechanism': Republicans issue stern warning to US universities against Chinese scholarship pro - Times of India - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republicans Are Already Licking Their Lips at the Chance of Another Reconciliation Bill - NOTUS - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Republicans say 'big, beautiful bill' will address states with high SNAP payment error, including Colorado - Denver7 - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Opinion | Everyone Hates This Bill. Dan Osborn Could Make Republicans Pay for It. - The New York Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- 'Big, Beautiful Bill': Which House Republicans voted against the bill? - FOX 5 DC - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- 2 Ohio Republicans taking on their own party to protect access to marijuana - News 5 Cleveland WEWS - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Republicans just cut Medicaid. Will it cost them control of Congress? - Politico - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- News Analysis: The healthcare cuts approved by Trump, Republicans go well beyond Medicaid - Los Angeles Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- People Are Saying We Might Not Even Make It To The Midterm Election After Elizabeth Warren Tried To Give Hope About Republicans Having To "Face... - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Fake Weather, Fake Flooding: Republicans Are Spreading A Bizarre Conspiracy Theory After The Deadly Texas Floods - HuffPost - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: Trump & Congressional Republicans Big Ugly Bill Will Hurt American Families - New Democrat Coalition (.gov) - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- What the Republicans New Policy Bill Means for Higher Education - The New York Times - July 8th, 2025 [July 8th, 2025]
- Republicans used to be the fiscally conservative party, but look at us now - Idaho Capital Sun - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Trump Goes on a Charm Offensive as He Woos Holdout Republicans - The New York Times - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- U.S. Rep. Castor Statement on Republicans Big Ugly Bill That Will Inflict Outsized Harm & Raise Costs on Floridians - U.S. Representative Kathy... - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Opinion | Republicans may be cooking up a mess in Texas - The Washington Post - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Republicans, Democrats start gaming out Trump's tax-cut bill hit to 2026 elections - Reuters - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- Republicans Pass the One Big Beautiful Bill Act Ahead of the July 4 Deadline - Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP - July 6th, 2025 [July 6th, 2025]
- These Republicans Savaged Their Partys Bill, Then Voted for It - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- How Republicans Re-engineered the Tax Code - The New York Times - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Republicans passed the 'big, beautiful bill.' Will it come back to haunt them? - USA Today - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Congressional Republicans defy expectations and send megabill to Trump - Colorado Public Radio - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Why Republicans once staunchly opposed to Trumps bill changed their minds - PBS - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Texas Republicans vote to send GOPs tax and spending megabill to Trumps desk after threatening to tank it - The Texas Tribune - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- The 2 House Republicans who voted no on Trump's sweeping domestic policy bill - ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- House Republicans pass their megabill, sending it to President Trump - Politico - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Jeffries calls out Republicans over Medicaid ahead of final megabill vote - Politico - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Which House Republicans voted against Trump tax bill? - USA Today - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- These House Republicans Voted Against Trump's 'Big, Beautiful Bill' - Newsweek - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- These are the 5 Republicans who voted against Trumps Big Beautiful Bill - AL.com - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Where Trumps massive policy bill stands in the House as some Republicans express concerns - PBS - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- House Republicans expected to pass Trump's massive tax and policy bill by July 4 - NPR - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Republicans Vulnerable to Losing Their Seats After Voting Yes on Trump Bill - Newsweek - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Who were the 2 Republicans that voted against Trump's tax bill? - NBC 5 Chicago - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- House Republicans advance Trump's tax-cut bill to a final vote - Reuters - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Congress passes Trump's tax and spending bill, with all four Colorado Republicans in the House voting "yes" - The Colorado Sun - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Republicans Just Passed the Worst Bill in Modern American History - Mother Jones - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Senate works a tense overnight session as Republicans seek support for Trumps big bill - PBS - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Article | Senate Republicans shock the House with a supercharged megabill - POLITICO Pro - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Senate Republicans struggle to push Trump's budget bill over the finish line - BBC - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Which Republicans Voted Against Trumps Bill in the Senate - The New York Times - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- The Republicans who bucked Trump on his big bill: From the Politics Desk - NBC News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Why Republicans are rushing to pass Trump's "big, beautiful bill" - MSNBC News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- House Republicans don't have the votes yet to pass Trump's megabill - CNBC - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Which Senate Republicans voted against Trump's tax and spending bill? - USA Today - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Fact-Checking Trump and Republicans on Proposed Tax Cuts in Policy Bill - The New York Times - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Senate Republicans just voted to dismantle Americas only climate plan - Grist.org - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Senate Republicans pass Trumps big bill but it may cost them in the future - The Guardian - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- House Republicans race toward a final vote on Trumps tax bill, daring critics to oppose - AP News - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- The Republicans in Congress Who Are Opting to Self-Deport From Washington - The New York Times - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Ahead of 2026, Georgia Republicans Are Quietly Installing Election Conspiracy Theorists on Local Boards - Democracy Docket - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Whats in the latest version of Trumps big bill Senate Republicans are trying to pass - PBS - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]