Republicans Navigate Post-victory Agenda After Trump's 'big, Beautiful Bill' Becomes Law

What do they do now?

The One, Big, Beautiful Bill is law. Congressional Republicans and nan Trump management stuffed each legislative inaugural imaginable (that would mesh pinch Senate fund rules) into nan package. Now Republicans must fig retired what to tackle during nan remaining 18 months of nan 119th Congress.

There are ever subjects connected which nan GOP wants to attraction and legislate. But aft approving nan hallmark of President Trump’s legislative agenda, location are frankly not a batch of different large items rolling down nan parliamentary pike.

RACE AGAINST TIME: HOW CONGRESS BARELY MADE JULY 4 DEADLINE ON ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’

President Donald Trump, right, shakes hands pinch House Speaker Mike Johnson aft signing his signature measure of taxation breaks and spending cuts astatine nan White House connected Friday, July 4, 2025 successful Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

But we’ll attraction connected a fewer that are important to nan GOP – and could make headlines.

The first large task comes adjacent week. A "rescissions" measure is owed successful nan Senate. A "rescission" is simply a petition by nan management to cancel spending that Congress had already appropriated. Congress approved an interim spending measure successful March to debar a authorities shutdown, but a fewer months later, White House Budget Director Russ Vought sent a "rescissions" petition to Congress. Vought hoped to claw backmost $9.4 trillion successful spending for USAID and nationalist broadcasting.

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U.S. Capitol Building astatine sunset connected Jan. 30, 2025. (Fox News Digital)

The House barely approved nan package, 214-212, past month. Flip 1 ballot and nan measure would person failed. Now, it’s up to nan Senate to align pinch nan House. Senators must do truthful earlier a July 18 deadline.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., noted that nan measurement was "subject to amendments." A alteration to nan scheme intends nan Senate would person to bounce it backmost to nan House to sync up. And nan management hopes to do aggregate rescissions plans this year. So if nan House and Senate can’t moreover trim a fewer cardinal dollars from what nan GOP considers low-hanging fruit….

Cutting nationalist broadcasting? Especially successful agrarian areas?

Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., who represents a sprawling authorities which still relies connected power successful places, indicated that he’d for illustration to spot immoderate changes to nan rescissions package, particularly successful ray of nan flooding successful Texas.

South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds was a panelist for nan inaugural Reagan National Economic Forum successful California. (Getty Images)

"Looking astatine power stations successful immoderate of nan agrarian areas that do a batch of emergency services," said Rounds.

Without question, nan biggest situation facing Congress this autumn – and adjacent autumn – is backing nan authorities and avoiding a shutdown. Congress managed to debar a shutdown successful March – simply renewing each existing backing astatine nan levels dictated by nan Democrat-controlled Congress past year, and signed disconnected by erstwhile President Biden. The only logic they avoided a shutdown was because Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., decided a shutdown was a worse option. 

So Schumer and respective Democrats voted to assistance nan GOP flooded a filibuster – and support nan authorities lights burning.

Democrats railed against Schumer for fundamentally helping bail retired Republicans and getting thing successful return. Some called connected him to measurement aside. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and different Democrats seethed astatine Schumer’s maneuver.

The New York Times Editorial Board accused nan Democratic Party of being successful "denial" complete why it mislaid successful 2024. (Getty Images)

Schumer tin astir apt only spell to that good once. One wonders what Schumer could perchance extract from Republicans and President Trump – who aren’t precisely fresh to woody – moreover though they deficiency nan votes to money nan authorities themselves.

Moreover, it’s unclear if a authorities backing measurement of immoderate benignant tin moreover make it done nan House pinch conscionable GOP votes.

Remember that House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., promised conservatives that they would do backing bills 1 by 1 erstwhile he secured nan speakership successful October 2023. After all, that was nan sound against erstwhile House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

Johnson managed to beforehand immoderate spending bills past year, but nan way to doing each 12 spending bills earlier nan Oct. 1 deadline is narrowing. The House Appropriations Committee has readied respective spending packages done nan outpouring and early summer, but nary are fresh for nan floor.

House Speaker Mike Johnson. (Ting Shen)

What’s nan magic potion for backing nan authorities connected clip this year?

Well, nan mobility is whether Johnson tin again support his conjugation together and person conservatives to o.k. yet different interim spending measure. And, since it’s astir nan math, they perfectly must person assistance from Schumer and Senate Democrats to debar a filibuster yet again.

Some of this will boil down to what President Trump wants. The easy way is simply re-upping nan aged Biden/Democrats’ money (again) for a short play and past hammering retired a broader spending pact later successful nan autumn aliases earlier Christmas. But that doesn’t alteration nan numbers successful nan House and Senate.

And conjecture what? They person to do this each again by Oct. 1, 2026.

From near to right, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, President Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson. (Getty Images)

There are besides expectations – and immoderate promises – of GOP leaders advancing different "reconciliation" package afloat of items they weren’t capable to worldly into nan Big, Beautiful Bill. A "reconciliation" measurement must woody pinch fiscal issues – not policy. It must besides not adhd to nan shortage complete a decade.

So, expect Republicans who didn’t people definite savings items successful nan Big, Beautiful Bill to push for provisions successful this package. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisc., has been among nan astir vocal advocates for 2 bills. Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., moreover pushed for 2 reconciliation packages complete nan winter. He preferred a scheme focused connected beefing up nan subject and nan border. Graham past wanted GOPers to move to a measure to trim spending and execute galore of nan goals outlined by nan Big, Beautiful Bill.

In fact, nan Senate’s first budgetary model – adopted successful February – focused connected nan separator and military.

What other is astatine stake?

Well, Republicans are simultaneously looking backwards – and forwards.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., is conducting an enquiry into what erstwhile Biden officials knew astir nan cognitive authorities of nan erstwhile president. Republicans want to forestall early presidents from relying connected unit if they are perchance retired of it. The GOP wants to conception legislative remedies to reside a imaginable early executive who can’t grip nan job.

House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chair James Comer speaks during a news conference. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

But we’ve been down this roadworthy before. Edith Wilson practically acted arsenic president aft Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke.

The property corps was complicit successful hiding nan beingness information of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt successful nan 1930s and 1940s.

Addressing a early impaired executive is simply a worthy exercise, but gazing backwards whitethorn beryllium problematic for nan GOP. Republicans don’t really person a bully Democratic foil correct now. Biden provides that. And truthful while nan GOP focused connected investigating nan Bidens successful 2023 and 2024, they’re going backmost to nan aforesaid good again. It besides doesn’t wounded Republicans politically to find retired what erstwhile Vice President Kamala Harris knew. Same pinch erstwhile Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Both are flirting pinch a 2028 statesmanlike bid.

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This comprises overmuch of nan schedule for lawmakers complete nan coming months. The midterms will beryllium present soon enough. Most thing other will apt ray successful comparison to nan Big, Beautiful Bill. And pinch nan touchstone of President Trump’s schedule now signed into law, Democrats are now determining really to weaponize it against Republicans successful nan autumn of 2026.

Most of nan legislative schedule is successful nan books.

So what do they do now?

Campaign.