Congress
Jim Jordan explores immigration deal with hard-liners amid floor impasse
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan said Tuesday he is negotiating with a key GOP holdout in hopes of drafting an immigration bill that can help unlock the ongoing floor impasse.
Jordan (R-Ohio) said he is speaking with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who is leading a block of hard-line conservatives who are upset GOP leaders have not yet called up a vote on a tough immigration and border crackdown.
The talks, Jordan said, have included potentially using a bill cracking down on so-called sanctuary cities that has already advanced out of the Judiciary Committee as a base, then adding elements of the much broader billRoy is pushing.
“I think that’s just good policy and would be helpful, so we’re looking at that,” Jordan said.
The House is set to vote on a procedural measure Tuesday afternoon that would effectively reopen the floor after weeks of GOP infighting.
But it’s not clear whether the Jordan solution would placate Roy, who said as recently as Monday that he was not yet satisfied with how party leaders were responding to his demands.
Those leaders have struggled to find a solution that would both appease hard-liners like Roy and more moderate Republicans who are wary of a border crackdown and want provisions such as an expanded agricultural guestworker program added.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Tuesday that Republicans are “not in agreement on the next approach” to the immigration issue but will keep talking among themselves about a way forward.
Those talks continue as Speaker Mike Johnson appears to have satisfied a separate group of GOP holdouts who had pushed leaders to do more to pressure the Senate to pass the SAVE America Act.
The leader of that bloc, Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, indicated Monday she would stand down so long as House GOP leaders move to attach the controversial elections bill to every major bill headed to the Senate this year. Another member who had previously aired concerns, Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri, also said he planned to vote Tuesday to reopen the floor due to “different dynamics” this week.
Mia McCarthy contributed to this report.
Speaker Mike Johnson told House Republicans he wants the Budget Committee to mark up a budget resolution by the end of Thursday — the first step toward passing a party-line policy package that can skirt the filibuster in the Senate.
Johnson announced his wishes inside a closed-door House GOP Conference meeting Tuesday morning, according to four people granted anonymity to share his private remarks.
While he doesn’t yet have the votes, he is pushing ahead amid increased pressure from White House officials to make real progress on advancing a reconciliation package as the midterms approach and money for the Iran war runs out.
Johnson and other GOP leaders are also working quickly to narrow the scope of their once-sprawling plans for “Reconciliation 3.0” — followups to last summer’s tax and spending megabill and the immigration enforcement measure passed in June.
Leaders are currently making plans for a framework for a reconciliation bill that would involve $67 billion for defense and $20 billion for farm aid and agriculture funding, according to five people granted anonymity to share internal discussions.
Their proposed bill also would include some components of the GOP election bill known as the SAVE America Act — largely by relying on a grant program and other incentives to encourage states to implement voter ID and citizenship requirements to cast ballots.
Johnson urged Republicans Tuesday morning to “be patient,” but he’s getting sharp pushback from rank-and-file Republicans who want more details now.
Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.), a member of the Budget Committee, made clear inside the conference meeting she would not vote to advance the budget framework until she received more information about its contours, according to the four people in the room.
Fiscal hawks are also deeply worried that the reconciliation bill would not be fully offset with spending cuts.
“I’m positive there will be pay-fors,” Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) said in an interview. “Or there is no path.”
Rep. August Pfluger of Texas, chair of the conservative Republican Study Committee and one of reconciliation’s biggest boosters, conceded Tuesday morning, “We really don’t have any details from leadership. We are continuing to urge them to be aggressive and be strong.”
He said he spoke up during the conference meeting to urge Republicans to do more to tackle fraud in social programs to find more cost savings.
Budget Committee Republican Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin said that if he had to bet, the budget resolution would make it out of committee by the end of the week.
“The devil’s in the details,” he said in an interview. “And I don’t think the details are worked out yet.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told fellow Democrats Tuesday he will oppose an amendment aimed at cutting off U.S. aid to Israel, wading directly into a contentious issue that is dividing the party.
Jeffries announced his position in a “Dear Colleague” letter circulated Tuesday and later spoke about his opposition during a morning caucus meeting.
The amendment to the fiscal 2027 spending bill for the State Department and overseas programs was introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and could come up for a vote in the coming days. It has sharply divided the party for weeks, with progressives calling for an end to America’s financial support for Israel as leadership-aligned members warned that the measure could also cut off aid to Palestinians in Gaza.
Jeffries said the amendment is “overly broad in that it prohibits or would limit the use of funds for longstanding initiatives related to humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, peace-building and U.S. Embassy operations.” He added that the measure would also restrict U.S. capabilities to “confront Hamas.”
The letter was first reported by The New York Times.
Until today, Jeffries had not advised his caucus about how he would vote on Massie’s amendment, though he hinted he had qualms. He hosted two lengthy meetings last month where House Democrats debated the measure.
He said in the letter Tuesday that there are “good faith reasons that will result in Members voting in a variety of different ways.”
House GOP leaders are closer to appeasing the group of hard-liners who have kept the chamber’s floor frozen for weeks.
Several of the rebel Republicans Monday told Blue Light News they will need to see concrete steps on legislation codifying President Donald Trump’s border policies before they’d take a procedural vote to unlock floor business. While it’s unclear what exactly could satisfy them, several said they want more than a promise from leaders to vote on immigration legislation.
“It’s not about promises at this point,” Rep. Chip Roy said Monday. “We need to see movement.”
Negotiations appear to be getting close: Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris said Monday he thought the group would still get an offer from leadership that could lift their blockade on a rule vote Tuesday. Roy predicted a “50/50” chance the rule is adopted Tuesday.
Speaker Mike Johnson and his leadership team are discussing several options for what they will offer hard-liners, according to three people with knowledge of the late night meetings.
“I think there’s going to be action on border security,” Harris told Blue Light News.
Meanwhile GOP leaders made progress with Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, who on Monday said she was lifting her hold on floor business “on the condition that Speaker Johnson attaches the SAVE America Act to all the appropriation bills and all must-pass bills here in the House and ensures it is sent to the Senate in one bill.”
House GOP leaders are also using the promise of another long-shot reconciliation bill to pressure the remaining hard-liners to reopen the floor.
Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought stopped by the House Freedom Caucus’ weekly meeting Monday night and pitched a third reconciliation bill with pieces of the SAVE America Act, three people in the room told Blue Light News.
Johnson said Monday House Budget would vote Wednesday on a budget resolution for the party-line package.
Still, senior Republicans are already starting to walk back that optimistic timeline after intense pushback from several GOP groups who said they needed more details about the plans — including some Budget Committee Republicans.
“I think there’s a long way to go … before we do any markup,” Rep. Erin Houchin, a Budget panel Republican, said in an interview. “We haven’t even seen language yet.”
In the Senate, Sen. Ron Johnson, who is slated to become the next Budget chair after the death of Sen. Lindsey Graham, is already getting ready to follow Graham’s push for a third reconciliation bill. He said Monday he met with Graham’s staff.
But even as House Republicans and a few GOP senators push for reconciliation, it will be an uphill battle for the Senate to pass any bill, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday
“The path to 51 is going to be a bumpy one over here,” Thune said.
What else we’re watching:
— GRAHAM’S SISTER TO BE SWORN INTO HIS ROLE: Darline Graham Nordone is poised to be sworn in Tuesday afternoon after South Carolina’s governor tapped the late Lindsey Graham’s sister to fill his role for the remainder of this term. Nordone said Monday she promised to “carry forward the efforts of my brother,” but little is known about her stance on policy issues. Kevin Bishop, who served as Graham’s communications director for over 25 years until 2024, said in an interview people will be “pleasantly surprised” at Nordone’s similarities with her brother, adding that she’s closely followed his work so “this is not going to be a babe-in-the-woods kind of thing.”
— SENATE DEMS POISED TO BLOCK NDAA: Senators will vote Tuesday on advancing the annual defense policy bill — and Democrats appear ready to block it in opposition to the ongoing war in Iran. The vote comes after Trump formally notified lawmakers that the nation is once again at war with Iran, giving his administration another 60-day clock to use the military without congressional approval.
Jordain Carney, Connor O’Brien, Leo Shane III and Mark Satter contributed to this report.
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