Republicans Are Moving as Quickly as Possible on Reconciliation — Even Without Consensus

Leaders want to vote on the reconciliation bill next week. At the moment, it doesn’t look like the bill would pass.

Mike Johnson
House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks with reporters at the U.S. Capitol. Francis Chung/POLITICO/AP

The clock is ticking for Republicans to get their massive reconciliation bill across the finish line before their self-imposed deadline of Memorial Day. At the moment, Speaker Mike Johnson doesn’t have the votes.

Key committees have worked overtime this week to mark up their respective parts of the reconciliation bill. And the House Budget Committee — the final panel from which the overall bill will be reported out of — plans to meet Friday morning to finalize the text. Republicans on the committee are expected to approve the legislation along party lines.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t problems ahead for GOP leaders.