GOP lawmakers battle as conservatives press for third budget reconciliation bill

Conservatives are calling on the House to pass a third GOP-only bill through the special reconciliation process to boost Pentagon funding and address alleged fraud in federal programs by the August recess — an extremely aggressive timeline that is sure to face headwinds in the slim majority.

Chief among those pushing for that timeline is Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), chair of the Republican Study Committee, the largest conservative caucus in the House.

“We have to get this done before the August recess,” Pfluger said. “It’s ambitious. We know the process. We understand as a conference how to come together.”

Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), chair of the House Budget Committee that has a key role in crafting the legislation, is also eyeing an August deadline.

“We’re going to have to move quickly,” Arrington said. “I think we have 25 legislative days left before August break. We need to have something out of the House by then, at least. So, time is of the essence.”

Such legislation would be a follow-up to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act — which Republicans have rebranded as the “Working Families Tax Cut” — that President Trump signed into law last year. Republicans used the special budget reconciliation process, which bypasses the 60-vote requirement in the Senate, to pass party-line budget and tax measures.

That process can generally be used a limited number of times in a year, giving the GOP trifecta two more chances to use the process to usher........

© The Hill