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You are here: Home / House of Representatives / Why Another Reconciliation Bill Seems Impossible

Why Another Reconciliation Bill Seems Impossible

February 24, 2026 at 5:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

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.”

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Filed Under: House of Representatives, Senate

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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