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Republican leaders in Congress say they will have a budget reconciliation package ready for President-elect Donald Trump to sign on Inauguration Day.
According to incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., the new Republican Congress has plan to address border and national security needs as well renewing tax cuts in a budget reconciliation bill.
"Republicans in Congress are hard at work preparing to address some key priorities through the budget reconciliation process," Sen. Thune said on Capitol Hill last week. "The border security policies we expect President Trump to implement will need to be fully funded to maximize their effectiveness."
Trump talked with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol in a private meeting last week. He also held discussions about strategy and policy at Mar-a-Lago recently with top GOP lawmakers including Texas Representative Chip Roy.
While Trump wants one 'powerful' bill, some Republicans say they would prefer two separate bills. U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, says regardless, Republicans will have a bill ready for the president-elect on day one of his administration.
"We're going to tee up a package that is ready for President Trump on day one," Rep. Gonzales said. "It is our job to make sure that that package has all things that we have worked on in regulatory reform and making sure Americans are safe with the border."
Trump said something will get signed quickly, whether it's one bill or two.
"One bill, two bills, doesn’t matter to me," Trump said after his Senate meeting Wednesday. "They’re going to work that out."
Rep. Gonzales is confident House Speaker Mike Johnson will get items of Trump's agenda pushed through in Congress.
"For too long we've talked about the problem and haven't solved the problem but that's what we're going to do under House Speaker Mike Johnson's leadership," said Rep. Gonzales.
Other things like enhanced citizenship verification procedures could be added to the bill to help with new security spending and also deter additional migration. For decades now, too many states have done very little to verify the citizenship status of applicants for federal health care programs. Trump has promised to secure the southern border and go through on mass deportation plans within the first few days of his term.