President Donald Trump sent a clear message to congressional Republicans this month that there’s no need to pass another party-line megabill this year. Many, however, aren’t ready to give up yet.

Trump’s comments in a Fox Business Network interview earlier this month appeared to finally settle a long-running GOP debate over whether to pursue a follow-up to the “big, beautiful bill” enacted in July, saying “we’ve gotten everything passed that we need.”

But some lawmakers are insisting that the filibuster-skirting budget reconciliation process offers an unmissable opportunity for Republicans to enact major conservative policy changes ahead of the midterm elections — and that there is still a window to get it done.

Those Republicans are largely brushing off Trump’s comments, refusing to take them as a death knell for their efforts.

“One day he’s okay with it, and the next day he’s not,” said Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), who is one of the loudest evangelists for passing another party-line bill before the midterms, arguing Republicans “haven’t done a damn thing” since last year’s effort.

Those attitudes threaten to extend the will-they-or-won’t-they discussion for potentially several more months as some factions keep pressure on GOP leaders to keep hope alive.

The influential Republican Study Committee, which includes scores of House conservatives, has been holding listening sessions since last August for what could go into “Reconciliation 2.0.” It put out a framework in January outlining how such a bill could fulfill an ambitious housing, health care and energy agenda. The group is not yet abandoning the effort.

“There’s always a chance until there’s not,” said Rep. Kevin Hern (R-Okla.), a former RSC chair and member of House GOP leadership.

Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas), the RSC’s current chair, said in a statement that a second reconciliation bill would be “the perfect vehicle” to unite Republicans behind “Trump’s America First agenda in 2026.”

“This is our moment, and we intend to make the most of it,” he said.

But to many senior Republicans that amounts to false hope — and a distraction from other matters on the congressional agenda in the coming months. Hopes abound for progress on bipartisan housing, permitting and transportation bills.

It was a particularly grueling process to get the first megabill through both chambers last year — and leaders had $5 trillion worth of tax cuts to dangle in front of recalcitrant members to help push it along.

House Republicans barely passed the bill on party lines in July, and their margin has only decreased since: They can currently afford no more than one defection.

“I would love a second reconciliation bill, but I can count votes,” Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) said in an interview. “And we do not have the votes for a second reconciliation.”

Speaker Mike Johnson and other House GOP leaders insist they haven’t ruled out doing a second reconciliation bill and say it’s still an active discussion, even as some senior House Republicans and GOP leadership aides privately doubt they will ever have the votes to move forward.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune also hasn’t dismissed another bill — but privately there’s a hefty dose of skepticism among senators and aides that there’s much of an appetite for another big party-line heave.

Asked about Trump’s latest comments, Thune acknowledged in an interview that there’s interest among some members. But he added that Republicans have to be “realistic” about the prospects of assembling a proposal that can garner 51 GOP votes and withstand a free-for-all of politically tricky changes from Democrats.

“We have to have a reason to do it,” Thune added.

To get another bill across the finish line during a midterm year, Republicans would likely need Trump to articulate what precisely he wants in a bill and then for the president to spend weeks, and potentially months, trying to help round up the votes.

But Trump has expressed skepticism about reconciliation, further raising the likelihood that the prospects of another bill are DOA. In addition to his recent comments, he kvetched about how little can actually get done in a reconciliation bill during a meeting with Senate Republicans last fall, instead urging Republicans to break the filibuster — a nonstarter for a significant swath of the conference.

Trump rekindled that push Thursday, telling senators in a Truth Social post to pass a GOP elections bill by insisting on a “talking filibuster” that would theoretically force Democrats to hold the floor indefinitely. The Senate is expected to vote on the bill, but many Republicans aren’t interested in skirting the chamber’s 60-vote supermajority requirement for most legislation.

The intraparty division is expected to come to a head next month at the House Republican retreat in south Florida, where a second reconciliation bill will be a topic of conversation. A previous closed-door meeting of GOP lawmakers in December grew heated, with vulnerable Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) saying it would “never” happen.

Reconciliation got a brief mention during a Senate GOP retreat earlier this month, but most of the focus was on a slate of bipartisan bills that could come up this year, as well as the need to promote last year’s megabill, according to attendees who were granted anonymity to describe the closed-door event.

But some Republicans on the Senate Budget Committee — including Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) — are pushing for more. Graham has told his members that he plans to move forward with a budget resolution that would tee up a second reconciliation bill aimed at beefing up military and border spending, addressing health care costs and targeting fraud in social services.

But according to his committee members, Graham hasn’t given a strict timeline for when he’ll start moving, and there’s skepticism that it will amount to much without GOP leaders’ involvement.

“I don’t know how you move forward without the majority leader’s okay,” Kennedy said in an interview. “Senator Thune wants us to only work on bipartisan bills. I love Senator Thune like a taco, but he needs to back off the crank if he believes that. There aren’t going to be any bipartisan bills — we’re right in the middle of the midterm election. Our one shot to get something is reconciliation.”

One of the other challenges is litigating what exactly would go into a second reconciliation bill.

Senate conservatives have floated taking another crack at healthcare, but that would risk exposing deep GOP divisions just months before the midterms. Many of the party’s most unifying health care proposals were omitted from last year’s megabill because of the Senate’s strict rules governing reconciliation.

Some senior House Republicans have discussed attempting to codify Trump’s tariffs in another party-line bill. But that long-shot effort is now effectively dead after six Republicans voted this month to reject Trump’s levies on Canadian imports — with more such tariff votes to come.

Asked about the possibility of codifying tariffs in a party-line package, Smith reiterated in an interview, “There’s not going to be a second reconciliation bill.”

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic rebuttal to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address next week, Democratic Minority Leaders Hakeem Jeffires and Chuck Schumer announced Thursday.

Sen. Schumer said Spanberger “has always put service over politics,” and Rep. Jeffries praised Spanberger for her decisive victory in November’s election.

“She stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who will lie, deflect and blame everyone but himself for his failed presidency on Tuesday evening,” Jeffries said.

In a statement, Spanberger said Americans expect and deserve “leaders who are working hard to deliver for them.”

“We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history,” she said. “Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring.”

Spanberger flipped Virginia’s governor’s mansion blue last year, becoming the state’s first female governor. She previously represented the commonwealth’s 7th District in the House. Before her time in politics, Spanberger served in the CIA.

The two minority leaders also announced Thursday that Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) will deliver the Democratic response in Spanish on Tuesday.

Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants and California’s first Latino senator, garnered nationwide attention last summer after he was forcibly detained by officers during a press conference with Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“As Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and MAGA extremists have tried to silence the voices of our Latino brothers and sisters, Senator Alex Padilla has consistently fought back and proven Democrats will not bend the knee to this out-of-control administration,” Jeffries said.

Schumer added that Padilla’s message will be a “sharp contrast to President Trump’s chaos and self-dealing.”

Padilla said he plans to discuss lowering costs, safeguarding democracy and reining in “rogue federal agencies” in his speech.

“Americans don’t need another speech from Donald Trump pretending everything is fine when their bills are too high, paychecks are too low and masked and militarized federal agents are roaming our communities violating Constitutional rights on a daily basis,” Padilla said.

Trump will address the nation from the Capitol on Tuesday, though a swath of Democrats have announced they plan to boycott the address. Jeffries, however, told reporters Wednesday that he plans to attend Trump’s speech.

“We’re not going to Donald Trump’s house, he’s coming to our house,” Jeffries said. “It’s my view that you don’t let anyone ever run you off of your block.”

In a rare move, Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) is reaching across party lines to endorse his wife, Susanne Shore, who announced Thursday that she is running as a Democrat for a seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.

Ricketts said in a statement that his wife would be an “outstanding voice” for the university, noting her love for Nebraska and their shared goals of making higher education more affordable and accessible.

“I usually vote straight Republican, but Susanne will be my one Democrat exception in 2026!” he said.

The former Nebraskan first lady is seeking an Omaha seat representing Douglas County after former Regent Elizabeth O’Connor resigned in January following a charge of felony DUI. Shore described herself as a “Regent-ready” candidate, pointing to her background in university administration, health care and public service.

“Our university must be an engine, not a museum,” she said in a statement. “By focusing on results over rhetoric, we can keep our university affordable, competitive and ready for the challenges of the future.”

The political split between the former two-term governor and his wife has been apparent for more than a decade. The two donate to opposing parties and have even backed candidates running against one another. Shore acknowledged the dynamic, saying differences at home are routine but respectful. In an interview with the Nebraska Examiner, Shore said Ricketts has been “nothing but supportive” of her political aspirations.

“He’s told me what it’s like to run for office, and I’ve seen it firsthand,” she said. “It does feel different to be on this side, but so far it’s been amazing.”

Shore said her husband has his own campaign to worry about. He’s facing off against Dan Osborn, an independent and former Omaha labor leader, in a competitive Nebraska Senate race.

Ricketts has been a loyal supporter of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party, backing the administration on many of its key issues. He was, however, one of the few Republicans to criticize Trump after he posted a racist video to social media depicting former President and first lady Barack and Michelle Obama as monkeys earlier this month.

“Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this,” he wrote on X. “The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize.”