It is an hour of crispy in the camera, where the next 48 hours will evaluate the leadership of the speaker Mike Johnson as never before, since he rushes to ensure the necessary votes to approve a Megabill aimed at advancing in the legislative agenda of President Donald Trump.
And now the president is ready to attend the Conference of the Republican Party of the House of Representatives at Capitol Hill on Tuesday morning, multiple White House officials confirmed ABC News, an effort to influence the holdouts.
After the successful vote on Sunday night to send the “Law of a Big Beutify bill” to the Chamber Rules Committee, there are now two complete intermediate days for Johnson to tell the final touches to the draft Reconciliation Law and Republican support to meet. And the pressure is above.
Johnson does not have the votes at this time, given the public concerns of conservatives and moderate equally. You can only lose three Republican members, so changes in the text of the bill are a certainty.
The speaker expressed on Monday the confidence in the House Consensus construction operation, since legislators make modifications to the bill.
“It has been an ascending process, that was what everyone wanted, so we have delivered, and we are almost there,” he said. “I am very optimistic that we will find the right equilibrium point to deliver this bill.”
Johnson’s effort to unify the conference behind the bill is an important proof of his relief, and his ability to comply with Trump, who has also encouraged Republicans to support him.
Johnson worked during the weekend to influence the Chamber Rules Committee to prevent the blockade of the legislation from moving from the committee as they had done on Friday. Hard phrases voted present on Sunday night to allow the bill to advance, but have not yet offered full support for the bill.
President Mike Johnson talks to journalists when he leaves the house of the house at the United States Capitol, on May 15, 2025 in Washington.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
On Monday, the White House Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said Trump was “willing to raise the phone” to encourage Republicans to align in the bill, but her meeting on Tuesday morning with the entire Republican conference is a stronger message for those who are in the fence.
Now, the rules committee is preparing for your audience at 1 in the morning on Wednesday, and that meeting will establish the parameters for the debate of the floor. Meanwhile, negotiations within the speaker’s office will reach a high point on Monday and Tuesday as Republicans face the conflicting points, mainly with respect to Medicaid’s work requirements and a state and local tax deductions limit.
“Nothing is final until it is final,” said a republican leadership assistant from the House of Senior Representatives to journalists in an informative session on Monday morning. “It is a fragile process.”
Johnson minimized on Monday the perceived concerns that the Republican party was falling into last minute changes in legislation at this late stage in the process.
“We have some problems to solve, and we are working with all the parties to do that, and I am sure we will do it,” Johnson explained.
Why gather at 1 in the morning on Wednesday? The president of the rules of the House of Representatives, Virginia Foxx, let out a soft laugh while walking through the Capitol early Monday morning, telling ABC News that the moment must adhere to the rules of the Chamber after the Chamber Budget Committee voted on Sunday night to advance the bill.
So what is the rule?
“According to the rules, the budget democrats obtain two calendar days to present minority opinions later [Sunday] Night brand, “said a Democratic assistant.” The rules have a one -hour notification requirement, therefore [the hearing] From 1 am “
The clouds roll on the United States Capitol in Washington, on May 18, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters
If the rules committee informs the reconciliation package favorably to the floor, that would maintain Johnson’s plans in time to celebrate a vote on the passage on Thursday, although he has threatened to celebrate the house in the session this weekend if there is any problem on the road.
Johnson is fixing the look to send the package to Trump for his signature before July 4, given a “deadline” in mid -July to address the debt limit to avoid breach.
As the negotiations continue behind closed doors, Republican assistants emphasize that “95% of the bill is carried out” while fighting to block support. It is anticipated that a round of changes will address technical modifications at the request of the Senate parliamentarian, who is scrubbing the text of the bill and pointed out that some legislative language can be fatal to the privileges of reconciliation in the Senate.
“Everything is on the table,” said a Republican party assistant, emphasizing the fluidity of general discussions.
Republicans of the House of Representatives are still weighing possible changes in the dates of implementation of Medicaid’s work requirements, balancing what is “feasible” for states to implement against the anguish of Republicans whose patience does not extend to 2029, beyond the Trump presidency, as it is currently written in the bill.
“We want to make sure that what we intend to really coincide with the ability to implement,” said a senior Republican assistant. “And so, an exact date is difficult to say at this stage because I think we are still working through that.”
In Salt, attendees said that a resolution “is not yet determined”, explaining that members only return to the city after a three -day weekend and that the speaker continues to work.
Leavitt on Monday addressed a concern that some of the Republican holders expressed about the bill that adds to the swollen national deficit, saying that “this bill does not add to the deficit.”
The Republicans insist that they will reach at least $ 1.5 billion savings with the bill, while reflecting the Trump agenda, pointing out the Congress Budget Charter that confirms that the 11 committees met their reconciliation instruction goals.
“This has been a year of work to discover what are the priorities you want to instill. We started this a long time ago and we worked towards him,” said an assistant. “We will work all the changes we must make here, and then we will see where the final exact numbers are drawn. But the conclusion is that we had a frame established in the budget and we will get it.”
And as the clock progresses, Johnson has rejected questions about the time that gives him “heartburn.”
“No, I have no stomach acidity, because I know we are going to do this job,” Johnson said.
Arthur Jones II of ABC News, Rachel Scott, Katherine Faulders, Lauren Peller and Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
