Last week's difficulty in passing the government spending bill, despite having a Republican majority in the House, emphasizes the need for GOP leadership to have a plan ready for the new Congress so that the Trump administration's priorities can be realized, Rep. French Hill told CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.
The Arkansas Republican emphasized that the GOP will only have narrow majorities in the incoming House, so it's "critical" that "we've got to work together."
He added that "this last week demonstrated that... it's very, very important that Speaker [Mike] Johnson and incoming Majority Leader [John] Thune have a steady plan together to work with the incoming Trump administration to prioritize the president's priorities, our priorities in the House and Senate, and make sure we're on the same page."
Thune stressed "that Republicans on both sides of the Hill are united that we want to unleash American energy for future production and an 'all of the above' energy strategy. We want to secure the border. We want to fight inflation through supply side regulatory reforms. We want to roll back those regulations that are constraining the markets and constraining private business, having access to capital. So, I think we're on the same page, and I think budget reconciliation will be a way to start that process and also rein in unsustainable $2 trillion deficits."
When asked if that is actually possible considering how difficult it was passing the government spending bill last week despite the Republican majority, Hill answered "I think we can. I think we demonstrated that last year in the last Congress, when we put together the most comprehensive Republican-only voting for border security, for an all of the above energy strategy.
The congressman added that "those are two priorities that President Trump campaigned on, we are united on those strategies, and I think we can get those priorities across the House floor as well as I say, rolling back unneeded regulatory burden on the American economy and small businesses to help fight inflation."