In the Senate, Thune resurrects idea of reconciliation
Source: Roll Call
Posted March 24, 2026 at 6:38pm, Updated at 8:12pm
For Senate leaders, pursuing another budget reconciliation bill this year was once considered a no-go. But in a matter of days, it’s become a distinct possibility. Using the often arduous budgetary maneuver would represent a shift for both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, necessitated by Republican needs to reopen the Department of Homeland Security while passing some of their legislative priorities, key among them a voter ID bill.
But using reconciliation remains an uphill battle, as rank and file resist the idea of a process that would require broad consensus within the GOP. The idea became even more attractive for Senate GOP leaders Monday, after President Donald Trump tied funding DHS — which has been shut down for more than five weeks — to passage of the GOP’s security legislation.
Doing both would represent a herculean task for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who faces both a slim majority and Senate rules requiring 60 votes to pass most legislation. Plan B: passing some of the voter ID bill, nicknamed the SAVE America Act by Republicans, with a reconciliation bill, which would only require a simple majority to pass.
“I think with budget reconciliation, as I’ve said before, you have to have a reason to do it … And we [very] well may,” the South Dakota Republican said Tuesday. He said that inside the Senate Republican Conference, “there’s a lot of support for a budget reconciliation bill.”
Read more: https://rollcall.com/2026/03/24/in-the-senate-thune-resurrects-idea-of-reconciliation/
Later in the article, REALITY sets in, which is what prompted most of the "policy riders" to be jettisoned from the Barbaric Butcher Bill -
Byrd rule
And it’s unclear which portions of the election bill could be included in a reconciliation bill and would survive a scrub by the chamber’s parliamentarian; provisions that don’t touch upon spending or revenue and are just about policy are usually expunged under the Byrd Rule, which requires reconciliation bills to focus on fiscal issues.
Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., told reporters he would not be willing to override the parliamentarian’s rulings when asked Tuesday.
(snip)
= new reply since forum marked as read
