Why Another Reconciliation Bill Seems Impossible

Punchbowl News: “A growing chorus of House and Senate Republicans want to use the fast-track budget reconciliation process to codify Trump’s global tariff regime following last week’s Supreme Court blockbuster decision.”

“Here’s the problem: There’s no chance that Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune can get enough Republican votes to pull this off. The math and the politics just don’t work. Don’t forget that Thune himself has expressed deep skepticism about broad-based tariffs like the ones Trump has doubled down on.”

“Yet if the GOP leadership tries to enact health-care policy or send more money to the Pentagon via reconciliation, there’s a group of hard-line Republicans itching to slip new tariffs into that package. Trump is sure to use his State of the Union address tonight to call on Congress to pass a new health care bill — which can only be done through reconciliation.”