As Trump takes office, Republicans face a high-stakes conflict over his legislative agenda

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump’s political stature is at an all-time high as he is sworn in on Monday amid growing divisions among congressional Republicans over how to implement his policy agenda.

Republican leaders on Capitol Hill say they will move forward along party lines with Trump's sweeping plan on immigration, domestic energy and tax law. That means giving them a slim majority in the House and adhering to the arcane Senate budget process, in which excluding Democrats and bypassing the filibuster would require curbs on spending and tax policies.

“We will soon begin the largest deportation campaign in the history of the United States,” Trump said at a victory rally in Washington on Sunday, where he cited the slim Republican majority in the House of Representatives. “We will end Biden’s energy war.”

While Trump has promised to issue a series of executive orders from day one, they will be subject to the law and the courts. Fulfillment of many of his promises will depend on congressional action.

But Republicans remain divided over how to address a range of issues they will encounter, including how quickly to pass border funding and complex questions about tax policy, cutting clean energy subsidies, raising the debt ceiling and limiting new deficits.

“This is a huge challenge,” Republican Sen. Thom Tillis said in an interview.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, is determined to move the entire agenda through a massive bill, telling NBC News last week that he plans to pass it in the House by April. But the far-right House Freedom Caucus disagreed and preferred splitting it into two bills.

Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, plan to pursue a two-track strategy: a smaller bill aimed at increasing border security funding and another later this year with more complex goals, such as Extend expiring Trump tax cuts.

Republican senators say House passage of a bill could surprise them and lead to success. But they are skeptical and if that doesn't happen by April, they will pressure House Republicans to break up the plan and quickly deliver low-hanging fruit to Trump.

The process debate is just the beginning.

Republicans must gain near-unanimous support within their ranks to pass any bill, and their 220-215 majority in the House of Representatives will shrink at least temporarily, with three seats expected to open in Trump's first 100 days in office.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, whose committee will be responsible for developing the border security and immigration enforcement portion, said he expects it to cost about $80 billion to $100 billion.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., ranking member of the Judiciary Committee, said Democrats will be ready to challenge Republican immigration measures in Congress and roll back policies that don't comply with the so-called Byrd rule.

“We expect there to be quite a bit of fighting on immigration,” Durbin said.

Republicans also want to introduce new provisions to expand domestic energy production, including fossil fuels, while repealing Democrats’ Cut unspent clean energy funds passed in the bill. committee.

She said they have begun exploring policy options, adding that she prefers a two-bill approach, with the first measure including her energy policy plan.

“This is not a new exercise for us. We're looking at IRA appropriations, we're looking at methane taxes and other things,” Capito said in an interview. “Because energy is a very important part.”

She did not provide an estimate of costs or savings to Republicans on energy, describing the numbers as “across the board.”

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., said it would take “100 percent” Trump's involvement to resolve some intra-party disputes.

The House is “just a little worried about whether they can get both done in the same year,” he said of the single-bill strategy. “Of course we're a little nervous about the border. We have to get something done.”

Tuberville also noted that Republicans need to figure out how to deal with the potential expansion of the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) — an issue that pits Republican lawmakers in high-tax states like New York and New Jersey against their counterparts in most states Differences arose. The party's stance in red-leaning areas and the debt ceiling.

House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., told NBC News last week that his panel was ready to pass a massive tax bill “within a week” that would extend Trump's tax cuts and other measures.

“We're ready. Give us budget reconciliation instructions,” Smith said, adding that the budget committee needs to agree on a path. “It has to go through the House, the Senate, and then those are the directives that we need to follow. Because what they tell us depends on what we can do. So there's not much I can do until they pass a budget resolution.”