House GOP leaders are closer to appeasing the group of hard-liners who have kept the chamber’s floor frozen for weeks.
Several of the rebel Republicans on Monday told POLITICO they will need to see concrete steps on legislation codifying President Donald Trump’s border policies before they’d take a procedural vote to unlock floor business. While it’s unclear what exactly could satisfy them, several said they want more than a promise from leaders to vote on immigration legislation.
“It’s not about promises at this point,” Rep. Chip Roy said Monday. “We need to see movement.”
Negotiations appear to be getting close: Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris said Monday he thought the group would still get an offer from leadership that could lift their blockade on a rule vote Tuesday. Roy predicted a “50/50” chance the rule is adopted Tuesday.
Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team are discussing several options for what they will offer hard-liners, according to three people with knowledge of the late night meetings.
“I think there’s going to be action on border security,” Harris told POLITICO.
Meanwhile GOP leaders made progress with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who on Monday said she was lifting her hold on floor business “on the condition that Speaker Johnson attaches the SAVE America Act to all the appropriation bills and all must-pass bills here in the House and ensures it is sent to the Senate in one bill.”
House GOP leaders are also using the promise of another long-shot reconciliation bill to pressure the remaining hard-liners to reopen the floor.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought stopped by the House Freedom Caucus’ weekly meeting Monday night and pitched a third reconciliation bill with pieces of the SAVE America Act, three people in the room told POLITICO.
Johnson said Monday House Budget would vote Wednesday on a budget resolution for the party-line package.
Still, senior Republicans are already starting to walk back that optimistic timeline after intense pushback from several GOP groups who said they needed more details about the plans — including some Budget Committee Republicans.
“I think there’s a long way to go … before we do any markup,” Rep. Erin Houchin, a Budget panel Republican, said in an interview. “We haven’t even seen language yet.”
In the Senate, Sen. Ron Johnson, who is slated to become the next Budget chair after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, is already getting ready to follow Graham’s push for a third reconciliation bill. He said Monday he met with Graham’s staff.
But even as House Republicans and a few GOP senators push for reconciliation, it will be an uphill battle for the Senate to pass any bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday
“The path to 51 is going to be a bumpy one over here,” Thune said.
What else we’re watching:
— GRAHAM’S SISTER TO BE SWORN INTO HIS ROLE: Darline Graham Nordone is poised to be sworn in Tuesday afternoon after South Carolina’s governor tapped the late Lindsey Graham’s sister to fill his role for the remainder of this term. Nordone said Monday she promised to “carry forward the efforts of my brother,” but little is known about her stance on policy issues. Kevin Bishop, who served as Graham’s communications director for over 25 years until 2024, said in an interview people will be “pleasantly surprised” at Nordone’s similarities with her brother, adding that she’s closely followed his work so “this is not going to be a babe-in-the-woods kind of thing.”
— SENATE DEMS POISED TO BLOCK NDAA: Senators will vote Tuesday on advancing the annual defense policy bill — and Democrats appear ready to block it in opposition to the ongoing war in Iran. The vote comes after Trump formally notified lawmakers that the nation is once again at war with Iran, giving his administration another 60-day clock to use the military without congressional approval.
Jordain Carney, Connor O’Brien, Leo Shane III and Mark Satter contributed to this report.