Senate Majority Leader John Thune acknowledged today that it will be a “challenge” for the House to pass Donald Trump’s massive policy agenda bill, but said he ultimately believes the chamber will be able to send it to the president’s desk.
“I appreciate the narrow margins they have over there, the challenge the speaker and his team have in front of them, but I think we gave a really strong product. I think we took what they sent us and strengthened and improved upon it,” he continued. House Speaker Mike Johnson has a historically narrow majority in the chamber.
He added that’s he’s “hopeful” that when House members “deliberate about how they want to handle it, they’ll find the votes that are necessary to pass it,” Thune said.
Asked about his message to Republicans like Sen. Thom Tillis, who are concerned about impacts of Medicaid cuts in their states, Thune noted that Tillis had his “own views” on the issue, and “we respect all of our colleagues.” Thune said he believes the Medicaid changes will “strengthen and improve” the program.
Thune said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who was the key GOP vote in getting the bill across the finish line, “obviously came to her own conclusion.”
“I’m just grateful that at the end of the day, she concluded what the rest of us did, or at least most of the rest of us did, and that is that this was the right direction for the future of our country,” he said.