WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Senator Rick Scott and Congressman Andy Harris, Chair of the House Freedom Caucus, led 26 of their Senate and House colleagues in a letter to Leader-Elect John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson fully supporting a two-step reconciliation strategy in the 119^th Congress. In their letter, the members emphasize the need to immediately pass a reconciliation bill focused on transformational America First legislation to secure the border, followed by the passage of a second reconciliation bill to prevent Democrat tax hikes, extend the Trump Tax Cuts, and slash wasteful government spending through reforms and cuts identified by the new Department of Government Efficiency.

Joining Senator Scott and Congressman Harris on the letter are Senators Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, Marsha Blackburn, Ted Budd, Roger Marshall, Lindsey Graham and Congressman Chip Roy, Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, Congressman Josh Brecheen, Congressman Eric Burlison, Congressman Michael Cloud, Congressman Andrew Clyde, Congressman Byron Donalds, Congressman Russ Fulcher, Congressman Bob Good, Congressman Andy Harris, M.D., Congressman Clay Higgins, Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna, Congresswoman Mary Miller, Congressman Barry Moore, Congressman Ralph Norman, Congressman Andy Ogles, Congressman Scott Perry, Congressman Bill Posey, Congressman Tom Tiffany, Congresswoman Anna Paulina-Luna, Congressman Andy Biggs, and Congressman Keith Self.

Read the full letter HERE or below.

Leader-Elect Thune and Speaker Johnson,

Following President Trump’s decisive victory, House and Senate Republicans now have a responsibility to do everything we can to help the President fulfill the promises he made to the American people. One of those promises was to secure our borders and restore the integrity of our nation’s immigration system after four years of President Biden’s open border policies. That is why we believe it is critical that we prioritize the prompt passage of a border security focused reconciliation bill. Mindful that our slim majority in the House and the filibuster in the Senate means that success is far from guaranteed, we believe that a two-step reconciliation process gives us the best chance of securing passage of this transformational border security legislation. With this goal in mind, we believe that the first reconciliation bill introduced in the 119^th session should:

• Provide four years of funding to:

• Complete and strengthen the border wall started during President Trump’s first term as President.
• Hire thousands of additional Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and agents and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in order to effectively secure the border and apprehend and remove migrants who have entered the U.S. illegally.
• Ensure a substantial increase in the number of ICE and CBP detention and short-term holding facilities.

• Encourage self-deportation by imposing significant financial penalties on aliens illegally in the United States.
• Limit, and in most instances eliminate, a non-citizen’s ability to apply for and receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits.
• Not only be fully offset with real mandatory spending cuts – not relying on spending reductions that President Trump will make through executive action – but also achieve deficit reduction with additional spending cuts at a level the conferences require and are realistic for passage.

The second budget reconciliation should primarily be focused on preventing the massive tax increase that automatically takes effect on January 1, 2026. Allowing that scenario to occur would undo the major economic benefits the country has enjoyed as a result of the landmark Trump Tax Cuts. To ensure passage, after factoring in the dynamic score of extending the Trump Tax Cuts, that reconciliation bill should reduce the deficit by including necessary spending reforms and cuts. This includes, but is not limited to, repealing the green tax credits in Democrats’ so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” and the estimated $2.5 trillion worth of cuts that the Department of Government Efficiency will identify as necessary to restore the fiscal health of the nation.

There are obviously many details to be worked out, but we are committed to helping both of you gain the support and passage of these budget reconciliation packages in the House and Senate.

Sincerely,

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