Trump’s first 100 days meeting

Presented by PCMA: Your first read on Capitol Hill politics and policy.

Jan 21, 2025 View in browser   By Mia McCarthy and Lisa Kashinsky Presented by  With assists from POLITICO’s Congress team IN TODAY'S EDITION: Trump meets with Johnson, Thune Ratcliffe and Hegseth are on deck in the Senate Trump’s TikTok order rattles Republicans President Donald Trump meets with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune today. Here they are Monday after Trump's inauguration. | Pool photo by Melina Mara After signing a flurry of executive orders Monday evening, President Donald Trump will shift to his Capitol Hill agenda today in a White House meeting with Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. The new Republican trifecta has a lot to discuss. GOP lawmakers still want more guidance on whether they’ll be expected to cram Trump’s priorities on the border, energy and taxes into one bill or two. They also want directions on spending limits needed to pass government funding legislation by mid-March and clarity on how to handle the debt limit, as the U.S. faces a potential default in the months ahead. “All of it’s on the table,” Johnson told us when we asked about today’s meeting with Trump. Thune has similar designs. “We'll talk about where we are on some discussions — on reconciliation, funding issues, I'm sure,” Thune told reporters at the Capitol on Monday night. “Now it's time to roll up our sleeves and go to work.” GOP leadership teams and Trump officials held several calls this past weekend to sort out more details around government funding and the party-line budget reconciliation agenda. While they’re trying to nail down a path forward, Trump himself admits he doesn’t care how GOP leaders accomplish his legislative agenda — just that it gets done quickly. What’s clear heading into the huddle: Republicans are growing antsy about the sheer weight of all their priorities, and they want Trump to provide clarity. “What I'd be most interested in, if they're to this point yet, is some sort of clear direction on budget reconciliation,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) told us. “Are we going to do the one and two, both at the same time, a whole one?” Republicans need to start working on funding bills soon if they want to avoid a shutdown in March. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) told our colleague Meredith Lee Hill he wants Trump to give Johnson “a clear sign on [spending] cuts.” Asked what he thinks Johnson’s goals are going into the meeting, Norman replied with a smile: “Whatever Trump’s goals are.” Take that as a sign of the times. GOOD TUESDAY MORNING. We have a lot of questions about the inaugural luncheon table seating arrangements yesterday. Some tables we cannot stop thinking about (h/t to our colleague Megan Messerly, who was in the room): Thune, Jeff Bezos, soon-to-be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Barron Trump Attorney general nominee Pam Bondi, House GOP Whip Tom Emmer, Donald Trump Jr. and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Justice Clarence Thomas and Ginni Thomas, Defense nominee Pete Hegseth, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and … House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.). “Interesting table,” Aguilar told our colleague Nicholas Wu as he left the lunch. “I didn't choose my table mates. That's all I'll say.” If you created the seating chart for yesterday’s lunch, we want to hear from you! Even if you didn’t — send us your thoughts plus any tips, scoops, transitions, birthdays, job postings, industry fly-ins, receptions and spotteds!   A message from PCMA: PBMs play a critical, cost-saving role in the prescription drug supply chain. In fact, PBMs provide average savings of $1,040 per person per year and $145 billion in annual value to patients, employers, and taxpayers. Congress should let the private market work to encourage greater competition and drive down drug costs. Learn more.   THE SKED The House is in session. — House Democratic leadership holds its in-session weekly meeting at 5 p.m. — The House votes at 6:30 p.m. on a handful of Natural Resources Committee bills The Senate is in session. — 10 a.m.: Elise Stefanik’s nomination hearing for U.N. ambassador at Senate Foreign Relations — 10 a.m.: Doug Collins’ nomination hearing for VA secretary at Senate Veterans’ Affairs — 10:15 a.m.: Senate Finance votes on Scott Bessent for Treasury secretary — 12:30 p.m.: Senators meet privately for weekly conference lunches The rest of the week: The House is still set to take up the Laken Riley Act, after the Senate passed the bill on Monday (12 Democrats backed it). The House is also set to vote on the Fix Our Forests Act and the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, among other bills. The Senate will take up nominations this week, with specifics to come. The Senate is also set to consider a bill from Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) on abortion, similar to the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act in the House. THE LEADERSHIP SUITE Sen. Ruben Gallego (center) walks to a vote on Capitol Hill on Jan. 17, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO Hakeem Jeffries enters the Trump era  Jeffries will meet this evening with his leadership team for the first time since Trump’s swearing-in. Democrats are beginning to game out how they can push back on Republicans’ reconciliation plans and what concessions they can eventually extract if they help lift the debt limit. Thune’s juggling act The Senate majority leader on Monday evening delivered Rubio’s confirmation as secretary of State, giving Trump a Day One Cabinet member. Thune told our colleague Jordain Carney that he’s hopeful the Senate will confirm John Ratcliffe today to be CIA director. After that, we’re watching to see who he brings up next — DHS nominee Kristi Noem or Hegseth. Noem is on a glide path to confirmation after Senate Homeland Security approved her nomination Monday in a 13-2 vote. Hegseth is viewed as likely to be confirmed as Defense secretary, but a few GOP senators remain undecided. Schumer’s choice The Senate minority leader let Republicans accelerate Rubio’s confirmation. We’ll see if he’ll do the same thing on Ratcliffe this week, and if Democrats will try to delay Hegseth. Schumer said Monday: “We will neither rubber stamp nominees we feel are grossly unqualified, nor will we reflexively oppose nominees that deserve serious consideration.” Schumer is facing another potential challenge with Sen. Ruben Gallego, the first-term Arizona Democrat who helped Republicans pass the Laken Riley Act. In an interview with our Daniella Diaz, Gallego said, “There has been this misunderstanding about where Latinos are when it comes to border and border security.”   A message from PCMA:   POLICY AGENDA TIKTOK DRAMA CONTINUES — Trump’s Day One decision to rescue TikTok is frustrating Senate Republicans, Ben Leonard reports, setting up what could be a prolonged clash between the new president and members of his own party. At issue is a Monday evening executive order that delayed a crackdown Congress imposed on TikTok last year to force its sale from Beijing-based ByteDance. Sen. Ted Budd of North Carolina said in an interview that TikTok doesn't need more time and that it had “months” to divest from its Chinese ownership. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa said in a separate interview that "the Chinese have had their chance ... I'm tired of them ignoring the law." At the same time, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) are putting together a bipartisan, bicameral coalition to save the app through legislation. THE GOP’S EV DILEMMA — Republicans are desperate for options to offset the cost of the domestic policy agenda they hope to pass through budget reconciliation. Trump may have taken one option off the table with an executive order repealing Biden administration policies intended to promote adoption of electric vehicles. Meredith and Ben report that GOP leaders pressed Trump’s team to steer away from such a move, saying they wanted to notch the savings in reconciliation instead. It’s not clear yet just how much money they’ll stand to lose through the executive order, though the House Budget Committee recently circulated a memo estimating that a rollback of Biden EV policies could save as much as $112 billion. TRUMP RATTLES ALASKA LAWMAKERS — Trump’s decision to rename Denali, the highest mountain in North America, is putting Alaska’s all-Republican congressional delegation in an awkward spot, Katherine Tully-McManus, Meredith and Daniella report. BIG DAY FOR THE VA — Former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) could face tough questions from Democrats today at his Senate confirmation hearing to be VA secretary, as the department stares down a budget shortfall and a fraught transition on electronic health records that has been tied to several veterans’ deaths. Ben reports that Democrats are likely to grill Collins about whether he supports “privatizing” the VA as well as what insight he has into Trump’s plans to roll back abortion rights across the agency. BESSENT NOMINATION TO MOVE AHEAD — Senate Finance is expected to approve Bessent’s Treasury secretary nomination this morning, teeing up his confirmation in the coming days. Republicans are set to uniformly back Bessent, Michael Stratford reports. Some moderate Democrats have indicated they’re open to backing him, though progressives are continuing to hammer him over tax-dodging allegations, which he denies. GET OUT OF DOGE — Vivek Ramaswamy is out at the Department of Government Efficiency before it even begins as he pursues a run for Ohio governor, our Holly Otterbein and Adam Wren report. Musk made it known that he wanted Ramaswamy out, per Holly and Adam, and even Hill Republicans have been taking swipes. DOGE is already facing lawsuits attempting to shut it down. The best of POLITICO Pro and E&E: Tech execs tie political fortunes to Trump  What Trump’s exit from the climate deal really means  THE BEST OF THE REST At Inauguration, Melania and Barron Trump Greet a Limelight They Once Avoided, from Katie Rogers at NYT. Democratic senator says it’s ‘probably time’ to look at pardon system, from Aris Folley at The Hill. Sen. Klobuchar to ABC’s Muir: What Trump and Biden discussed in the limo, from Emily Chang at ABC News. CAPITOL HILL INFLUENCE Bailey Bishop is now a senior legislative associate at the American Legion. She was previously a legislative assistant for Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.). JOB BOARD Hiring in your office? Send us what job opportunities you’re hoping to fill, and we’ll flag them here! HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) … Rep. Addison McDowell (R-N.C.) … Will Holley of Firehouse Strategies … C-SPAN’s Sam Feist … POLITICO’s Jen Haberkorn … Bob Sensenbrenner … Edelman’s Sean Neary, Lyla Shaibi and Lauren Grella … Michael Comer of House Majority Leader Steve Scalise’s office … Becca Glover ... Steve Rosenthal ... Campbell Spencer of FORA Partners … former Rep. Matt Salmon (R-Ariz.) … Paloma Chacon TRIVIA  MONDAY’S ANSWER: John Lin correctly answered that only one other president (Ronald Reagan) has been sworn in in the Rotunda besides Trump. TODAY’S QUESTION, from John: How many current senators' first elected office was to the Senate? The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to insidecongress@politico.com.   A message from PCMA: Big Pharma sets and hikes brand name prescription drug prices, and blocks competition to keep those prices high on the drugs they market. Big Pharma also banks far larger profits than anyone else in the prescription drug supply chain, spending billions of dollars each year pushing high-priced blockbuster products on consumers to undermine more affordable competitors and increase sales.  In just the first few days of 2025, Big Pharma increased prices on hundreds of brand name drugs, by more than the rate of inflation. But that's not enough. Now Big Pharma wants Washington to undermine pay-for-performance incentives in the private health care market that help employers and unions secure savings on prescription drugs that have some competition. Employers and unions use those savings, secured by PBMs, to lower cost-sharing for the people whose coverage they sponsor – for American families. Reject Big Pharma's money grab at the expense of everyone else. Learn more.     Follow us on Twitter Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky Mia McCarthy @Reporter_Mia   Follow us

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