Speaker Mike Johnson’s ability to wrangle GOP into line is put to the test at Miami retreat

House Speaker Mike Johnson has vowed that Republicans will start moving the legislative vehicle for President Trump’s agenda next week, but rank-and-file members remain skeptical.

House Republicans spent three days huddled at Mr. Trump’s golf resort in Miami, hashing out the plan to pass the president’s tax cuts, border policy and energy policy through Congress in party-line votes.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia Republican, said they still haven’t agreed on a plan. She noted that lawmakers have been presented with the same policy and budget-cut proposals for a month. 

“Basically, just get started doing something,” she said on social media Wednesday.

Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, set an ambitious timeline to get a bill to Mr. Trump’s desk by Memorial Day.

First, lawmakers need to concoct and pass a budget resolution that will guide the process onward and provide guardrails for spending levels and legislation. The speaker has set the end of February as a target for the resolution to pass. 

Mr. Johnson promised the House Budget Committee would have a blueprint next week.

He touted the member engagement throughout the weeks of meetings, noting that only 14 House Republicans weren’t involved in the process.

“Every single member will be involved,” he said. “When we say a bottom-up, member-driven process, that is by design and we are exactly where we are supposed to be on our timetable. This is all preplanned, and it’s coming together very well.” 

Rep. Ralph Norman, South Carolina Republican, told The Washington Times that he was confident the speaker would make good on his promise.

“We’ve batted this thing around, and I think in a good way, enough,” he said. “Now’s the time to put it on paper, and let’s go to work and come together.”

Still, a contingent of lawmakers opted to not attend the retreat for various reasons such as wanting to spend time with family after a long three straight weeks in Washington or to do work in their districts.

Mr. Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance spoke with House Republicans earlier in the week but didn’t offer much direction on how to tackle their legislative priorities.

House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain of Michigan said unity was the key to success.

“Our agenda is absolutely unstoppable, if we remain united,” she said.

However, the last Congress showed that unity was hard to come by for the House GOP when trying to advance legislation. 

There’s another wrinkle: Mr. Johnson may not include the debt hike in the package. Some Republicans it in the mix because the legislative tool they’re using, known as budget reconciliation, would allow them to pass the package without negotiating with Democrats.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, said budget reconciliation is a powerful tool “to get the country back on track,” but acknowledged it’s not an easy process.

“We’ve been continuing to have honest discussions about the differences within our conference, and that is how we are going to come together to ultimately pass historic legislation for our country,” he said.