Trump Pushes for ‘One Big, Beautiful Bill’ as House GOP Faces Internal Divisions on Budget Strategy
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Donald Trump called for “one big, beautiful bill” to address various funding priorities in a single package, often referred to as a “Christmas tree budget bill.” However, as Punchbowl News reported Monday, Trump was surprised to learn that House Republicans are far from united on the issue.
Over the weekend, top Republicans met with Trump and Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago to strategize and address the party’s internal divisions. Despite the discussions, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) faces the challenge of balancing conflicting factions within the House GOP. “No matter which direction Johnson takes, he’ll ‘anger one portion of the House Republican Conference or another,'” Punchbowl News noted.
According to the report, Trump initially believed the House GOP supported his vision for a single comprehensive bill. “Before the meetings at Mar-a-Lago, Trump was under the impression that the House GOP was in agreement on the one bill approach to reconciliation,” Punchbowl News reporter Melanie Zanona posted on X. “He quickly learned that wasn’t the case.
On Fox Business, Johnson expressed cautious support for Trump’s approach but left room for flexibility. “At the end of the day, President Trump is going to prefer, as he likes to say, ‘one big, beautiful bill.’ And there’s a lot of merit to that, because we can put it all together, one big up-or-down vote, which can save the country, quite literally,” Johnson said.
Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has advocated for a two-bill solution, arguing it might be more feasible given Republican disagreements. “Thune had a back-and-forth with Trump on this during Senate Republicans’ closed-door meeting with the president-elect last week,” the report revealed. The two-step approach remains a potential fallback if consensus on a megabill cannot be reached.
Timing is another issue. Johnson aims to bring a budget bill to the floor by mid-February, but the GOP’s narrow majority and internal divisions threaten to delay progress. Punchbowl News also highlighted challenges posed by House Republican holdouts like Reps. Chip Roy (TX), Ralph Norman (SC), and Thomas Massie (KY).
Adding to the tension, Trump is reportedly furious that the GOP left the debt ceiling unresolved, forcing him to address the issue early in his presidency while facing the prospect of a government shutdown within his first two months.
