President-elect Trump on Wednesday said “it doesn’t matter” whether Republicans on Capitol Hill tackle his top priorities on taxes, energy and the border in one package or two as the party tries to nail down its plan for the coming months.
“We had a great meeting. There’s great unity. Whether it’s one bill or two bills, it’s going to get done one way or the other,” Trump told reporters following a meeting with Senate Republicans Wednesday evening.
“I think there’s a lot of talk about two, and there’s a lot of talk about one, but it doesn’t matter. The end result is the same,” he continued, hailing the meeting as “really unified” and “very strong.”
“We’ll get something done,” he added.
Privately, however, senators said Trump expressed a strong preference for one bill, often pushing back on senators during the meeting.
Republicans are set to have control of the Senate, House and White House and are aiming to pass large swaths of Trump’s agenda through a maneuver known as reconciliation, which would bypass a Senate filibuster and eliminate the need to win Democratic votes.
But there has been an ongoing battle between Senate and House GOP leaders over whether to divide those priorities into two packages, or try to pass them all at once.
Senate Republicans have argued that a two-bill process would allow the party to score a major political win earlier in Trump’s term, with a package featuring energy and border provisions done within the first two months of Trump’s inauguration.
Across the Capitol, House leaders have say that with their slim margin, they might only have one bite at the apple and that a massive, all-inclusive reconciliation bill might be their best hope for advancing the party’s agenda.
Trump himself had caused some confusion earlier this week, first by calling for “one powerful bill,” before saying a day later that he was open to a two-bill track.
Trump on Wednesday also addressed a number of other items, telling reporters that he did not sense any “pushback” from Senate Republicans about his calls to militarily acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal. He also likened Donald Trump Jr.’s recent visit to Greenland to “a lovefest.”
Denmark has maintained that the arctic nation is not for sale.
Trump also indicated that he believes he can work with California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to help rebuild portions of the state that are being ravaged by wildfires despite their contentious relationship.
“What’s happened is a tragedy, and the governor has not done a good job. With that being said, I got along well with him when he was governor. We worked together very well and we would work together. I guess it looks like we’re going to be the one having to rebuild it,” he said.
“But what happened there — I don’t think there’s anything that I’ve ever seen,” he added.
