By Nicole Weatherholtz | Wednesday, 06 May 2026 04:30 PM EDT
Senate Republicans are battling behind closed doors over whether to advance a third budget reconciliation package before the midterm elections as GOP lawmakers race to lock in more of President Donald Trump’s second-term agenda.
Conservative members within the party seek additional provisions for another major package that could include expanded Pentagon funding and extensions of Trump-era tax cuts. However, Senate appropriators and Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, have reportedly warned colleagues that reopening tax negotiations could trigger renewed conflict over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed last July.
Some Republicans stated time is running out if Democrats retake the House in November. “There are some who are saying, ‘Look, we know the House is going to flip, and so, this is basically our last opportunity to really do anything, and so we’ve got to go for the gold ring. We’ve got to put everything that we want into a reconciliation bill because we’re not going to be legislating anymore,'” one Republican senator said anonymously.
Another GOP senator added, “I refuse to accept that.”
A second Republican senator noted strong opposition within the conference to moving another reconciliation bill, particularly among lawmakers who believe Congress should pass defense funding through regular appropriations rather than partisan maneuvers.
Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, D-Illinois, criticized Republicans for sidelining bipartisan negotiations: “We tend to evolve toward the most recent precedent, and this use of reconciliation repeatedly to avoid a bipartisan compromise moves us in the wrong direction.”
Conservatives such as Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, had hoped Republicans would use another reconciliation package to showcase Trump economic policies heading into midterms. But GOP leadership expressed concerns that expanding the current immigration bill would delay its passage.
Senator John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, dismissed speculation about a third reconciliation bill this year: “Somebody started this stuff about there being a third reconciliation bill, and my response to that is: Dreamweaver. I don’t know what year they’re talking about, but it’s not happening before the midterm elections.”
Senator Kevin Cramer, R-North Dakota, indicated he would support another package but admitted the political path appears difficult: “I do want that, and I’d love to take it on. Right now, it’s hard to see it.”
