Donald Trump Has Two Special Chances to Pass His Campaign Promises

Representative Andy Harris, chair of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, wants Republicans to take two opportunities to pass Donald Trump’s economic agenda when he takes office.
Trump has secured enough Electoral College votes to return to the White House in January, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in critical battleground states. His victory comes after a tumultuous race, and he campaigned on wide-reaching economic policies that conservatives will aim to pass in the first months of his presidency.
Republicans have also taken control of the Senate, though the House of Representatives remains uncalled as dozens of undecided races will determine which party has a majority come January. Even if Republicans win control of the House, their majority would likely stay slim, potentially making it more difficult to pass some of the more far-reaching aspects of Trump’s agenda.
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Harris, a Maryland Republican, said on Fox Business Thursday afternoon that he believes Trump should take two chances next year to advance his fiscal policies, which would include some tax cuts and the removal of taxes on tipped wages.
“We can have two packages next year because we didn’t use one this year, so we actually can have two reconciliation bills. My proposal would be, do a small one at first, deliver on tax on tips, maybe some border security, some other promises that Mr. Trump has made. Then take our time to get the big tax package right,” he said.
Reconciliation is a procedure used by Congress to pass budget legislation; it allows lawmakers to bypass the filibuster, which requires 60 votes to pass legislation but has more stringent requirements about what a bill can do.
For instance, reconciliation bills can only be used to make changes in the statutory debt limit, revenues and direct spending. It can’t be used to pass pieces of legislation not directly related to spending and revenue, meaning Republicans can’t use it to pass more sweeping social legislation. It also can’t be used to make changes to Social Security.
Congress can only pass one reconciliation bill per fiscal year and has not done so for the fiscal year 2025, instead passing a continuing resolution in September to avert a government shutdown. House Republicans have struggled to legislate a budget due to differences among their slim majority—a problem whichever party takes control of Congress may continue to face.
In addition to the reconciliation bill for this year, Congress would also be able to pass a second reconciliation bill for the Fiscal Year 2026, though that would not go into effect until after September.
Reconciliation has been used more in recent years as neither party has been able to secure a 60-seat Senate majority. In 2017, during Trump’s first term, Republicans passed two reconciliation bills—one for the 2017 fiscal year, and one for 2018.