Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Newsmax on Monday that legislators have to "get a bill across the finish line" that addresses a wide range of issues, including the border, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and energy policy.
House Speaker Mike Johnson on Saturday informed Republicans that President-elect Donald Trump prefers one reconciliation package that would cover the border, tax cuts, and energy policy to the two that the GOP leadership wanted, with Johnson reportedly saying at a GOP retreat that Trump said he wants "one big beautiful bill."
When asked on "Wake Up America" about Trump’s call for a single bill, Lawler said, "Obviously there are a significant number of issues to be addressed from the border, to the tax bill, to energy policy that we want to get done in one reconciliation bill. We’re going to have to negotiate, but we're going to have to work together, and everybody is going to have to understand that.
"There may not be something in there that they themselves like or would generally support, but all of us are going to have to work together to get a bill across the finish line and … accept the fact that in a conference of 219 currently, we're all not going to get everything we want."
Lawler said that despite this, legislators must compromise and pass a bill, saying, "But for the American people it's critical that we pass the reconciliation bill. We have one chance to do it, and we need to do it."