Trump Details His Costly Congressional Wishlist

DORAL, Florida — President Donald Trump on Monday didn’t offer House Republicans any new guidance for how exactly they should enact his vast legislative agenda. But he issued a long list of must-haves.

Speaking at the annual House GOP policy retreat — held this year at his Miami-area resort — Trump spelled out key demands for Speaker Mike Johnson as congressional Republicans solidify their strategy to advance the massive, party-line domestic policy bill they are hoping to pass in a matter of months.

Virtually all of these demands are costly, adding to the challenge GOP leaders face in finding corresponding spending cuts to offset them.

Trump, for instance, outlined a series of expensive immigration policy moves, including a “massive increase” in detention beds, additional support for ICE as agents ramp up deportations, “full” border security funding and completion of the wall at the southern border.

On tax policy, Trump was even more expansive. Echoing a demand he reminded GOP leaders about during a recent White House meeting, he reiterated his campaign promises to not only extend the 2017 tax cuts but also eliminate income taxes on tips, Social Security benefits and overtime earnings.

What he did not detail was just how congressional leaders should go about getting all of these policies passed. House and Senate leaders remain at odds on whether every priority should be stuffed into one bill or split between two, though Johnson is primed to move forward with a one-bill plan.

“We don’t want to get hung up on the budget process … whether it’s one bill, two bills, I don’t care,” Trump said. “Let these guys … they’re going to work it out one way or the other.”

House Republicans are privately wary about the price tag for all of Trump’s demands, with some members estimating the entire array could reach $10 trillion. While the border policies in particular have wide support across the conference, Johnson’s right flank is demanding any new spending be fully paid for with separate deep spending cuts.

Some GOP members are privately dubious about how they’re supposed to pay for other Trump demands, including his “no tax on tips” push. House GOP chairs and leaders will discuss some of their envisioned spending cuts in more detail, in closed-door meetings, at the retreat Tuesday.

Monday night, though, Trump made clear he doesn’t want any cuts to come from Medicare or Social Security; a menu of potential cuts previously circulated by House Republicans instead targets Medicaid, food assistance and other safety-net programs.

GOP leaders have also been discussing whether to offset some of the border security costs by increasing fees for migrants seeking asylum in the U.S. and slashing some social services for newly arrived immigrants. Even then, the bill likely won’t be fully paid for with those measures alone.

Trump, notably, devoted a significant portion of his roughly 50-minute address to House Republicans to his plans for instituting a new wave of tariffs. Trump mentioned both Mexico and Canada by name as the focus of his ire; he has already threatened sweeping 25 percent tariffs on the two neighboring countries starting Feb. 1.

“We are going to protect our people and our businesses, and we are going to protect our country with tariffs — and you got a little indication of that yesterday,” Trump said, making reference to his Sunday threats in response to Colombia’s refusal to receive migrant repatriation flights.

If there was another main theme of the speech, it was unity.

With low-single-digit majorities in both chambers, Trump and GOP congressional leaders face a grinding fight to get any legislation passed, let alone a party-line bill of the scale they are now proposing.

The president beseeched the gathered Republicans to “make life easy” and fall in line behind party leaders.

"The Republican party has to stick together,” he said. “It would be different if we had ... a 30-person majority, but we don't. … Right now we have a very special period because we have the House, we have the Senate, and we have the White House. And we're a team. And we're a really good team.”

Trump also noted he has raised “a lot of money” that he wants to deploy in advance of the 2026 midterms, for both House and Senate races.

Throughout his remarks, Trump name-checked various lawmakers in the crowd. He heaped praise on Speaker Mike Johnson — “a high quality person, very religious person” — and Whip Tom Emmer, whom he said he’d gotten to know and respect.

Regarding Majority Leader Steve Scalise, who was shot in an attempted assassination in 2017, Trump quipped: “He looks better today than he did 10 years ago.”

The president also recognized a key ally, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), who was sitting deep in the crowd.

“Not a great seat for a man of such power,” Trump quipped before commenting on Jordan’s ubiquitous appearances defending Trump on cable TV: "What's not to like? He gets on television, he's like a wrestler: He’s got this boom, boom, boom, boom. It’s very impressive.”