Tax lobbyists are worried Congress could endanger highly anticipated tax reform if it uses the first reconciliation bill to shore up immigration and border security funding.

Tax cuts enacted in 2017 by President-elect Trump’s signature bill are set to expire at the end of next year. Lobbyists already believe it will likely take longer to pass tax reform than the GOP originally hoped, and it could take even longer if Republicans opt to hold the tax package for a second reconciliation push.

“To delay is to kill,” warned Grover Norquist, founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform, which opposes tax increases. “And all it takes is one bad car accident or an interesting scandal, and the Republicans don't have the majority in the House anymore.”

The budget reconciliation process would allow Republicans to pass legislation with a simple majority in both chambers, bypassing potential Democratic filibusters in the Senate.

House Republicans would then need near-unanimous support to pass the bill along party lines, and their slim majority includes a small but vocal contingent of budget hawks that could cause problems. Some House Republicans from New York and New Jersey have also insisted on increasing the state and local tax deduction in another bill, which could be a sticking point for the rest of the conference.

Senate leaders want to start with the border

While tax has been a top priority as the deadline approaches, Senate leadership earlier this month proposed prioritizing a border security-focused package before trying to craft and pass a tax plan through a second reconciliation bill.

A source close to Republican Senate leadership told The Hill that while there have been conversations about what to include in the packages, they are still “trying to figure out what the process is to achieve all of these goals.”

While incoming Senate Republican........

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