President Trump has set a blistering pace as he approaches his first 100 days in office, but some House Republicans are disappointed with their sluggish progress in enacting his agenda.
Before Mr. Trump took the oath of office in January, Republicans vowed to aggressively pursue and pass his top legislative goals. So far, they have only scratched the surface.
“I’m satisfied with what he’s doing. He’s moving at warp speed,” said Rep. Ronny Jackson, Texas Republican and one of the president’s closest allies in the House. “I think we could be doing more here.”
One sign of Congress’ slow pace is the number of bills reaching the president’s desk. Mr. Trump has signed five bills into law: the Laken Riley Act to crack down on illegal immigration, three resolutions rolling back Biden-era regulations, and a government funding extension.
During the same period of his first term, Mr. Trump signed two dozen bills into law.
Much of the focus in Washington has been on the filibuster-proof budget reconciliation process, which Republicans plan to use to pass sweeping tax relief and spending cuts, border and defense funding, and energy policy changes.
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House Republicans took a step forward this month when they passed the Senate’s revised version of the lower chamber’s budget resolution. That allows Republicans to unlock budget reconciliation and get to the core of constructing the policy anchoring the president’s agenda.
One faction in the House that has consistently opposed the Republican leadership’s push to move forward with legislation is the House Freedom Caucus. This group has dug deep with its position of wanting commitments for steep spending cuts during budget reconciliation.
Rep. Elijah Crane, Arizona Republican, agreed with Mr. Jackson that lawmakers were not moving fast enough but described the Freedom Caucus’ resistance as a way to produce a better outcome for the president’s agenda.
The last-minute negotiations and assurances to get him and others on board with the revised budget resolution were “another example of how the swamp works,” he said.
“They push you into a corner, tell you you’re running out of time,” Mr. Crane said. “If we don’t do this, the economy is going to tank. Then some … strong individuals hold out and say, ‘No, we’re not doing it,’ and then you end up getting a better deal.”
The tactic appeared to work. Hard-liners received written and verbal commitments from Republican leaders that the reconciliation bill would include at least $1.5 trillion in cuts and not add to the deficit when factoring in an estimated $2.5 trillion worth of economic growth.
Despite the wrangling, passing the budget resolution largely coincided with House Speaker Mike Johnson’s goal of getting a final reconciliation package onto Mr. Trump’s desk by Memorial Day.
After the budget vote, the speaker said the 11 committees tasked with formulating the policy points of the president’s agenda were “ready to go.”
“We’ve been working on this for many months, almost a year now, really, when we first started the effort. And so we have the work product already prepared,” said Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican. “We have bills drafted. Most of them have been scored on it, and now we go through the process of marking it up and finding the equilibrium points with everybody so that all those interests are met.”
A president’s first 100 days are viewed as crucial to implementing major parts of his agenda, and Mr. Trump’s window will come to a close on April 30. That is two days after lawmakers return from a two-week break to observe Easter and Passover.
Mr. Jackson said he was frustrated by the familiar intraparty squabbles and demands that often dragged down House Republicans during the last Congress and have played a major role in slowing momentum this year. Although Republicans have a similarly thin majority as the last session of Congress, they control both chambers and the White House.
The president has had to act as a go-between for frustrated Republicans who have withheld support for certain measures. His push for legislation often acts as the final nudge for some Republicans.
“Everybody wants something for their vote. It just gets old after a while,” Mr. Jackson said. “I’m sure he’s getting tired of calling people and trying to convince them to vote for what the American people want.”
The Washington Times reached out for comment from the White House.
Rep. Russ Fulcher, Idaho Republican and a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee tasked with finding at least $880 billion in spending cuts under budget instructions, said House Republicans “always knew that the struggle would be such tight margins to be able to stay on pace.”
“Am I personally happy with it? No. However, we are making progress,” Mr. Fulcher said. “I think we’re getting there and just going through the necessary motions.”
• Alex Miller can be reached at amiller@washingtontimes.com.
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