GOP Faces Tight Calendar, Internal Splits as Midterms Near; Key Bills Stall in Senate and House

Republican leaders in Congress are confronting a shrinking legislative calendar and deep intra-party divisions as the November midterm elections approach, leaving key elements of President Donald Trump’s agenda at risk of failing to reach his desk. According to the timeline cited by lawmakers, the Senate has just 53 days in session before the election and the House roughly 40, intensifying pressure to resolve several high-profile policy fights in a compressed window.

One immediate flashpoint is a second reconciliation package aimed at funding immigration enforcement that will miss President Trump’s June 1 deadline, according to GOP senators. The package — drafted by Senate Republicans in response to last year’s 76-day Department of Homeland Security shutdown — would provide more than $30.73 billion to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $22.57 billion to Customs and Border Protection and $2.5 billion in DHS appropriations through 2029. Senate Republicans say the bill is intended to strengthen border operations and agency funding going forward.

The legislation, however, has been complicated by debate over a separate $1.8 billion fund proposed by the Trump administration to compensate people alleging the justice system was “weaponized” against them. Several Republicans have pushed to limit or condition eligibility for those payments. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said colleagues wanted conditions on who could receive the funds and added that he did not see a need for the fund. Sen. Bill Cassidy argued the money could enable payments without “legal precedent or accountability,” while Sen. Thom Tillis warned it could “compensate people who assaulted Capitol Police officers.” On May 21, Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick and Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi introduced bipartisan legislation to prohibit the use of taxpayer money for the fund.

Senate Republicans remain hopeful they can secure reconciliation before the midterms. Sen. Kevin Cramer told Semafor that passing the package “is way too important not to do.” But the package has also run into procedural obstacles: Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that four sections of the bill violated the Byrd Rule, which requires reconciliation provisions to have a direct budgetary impact. The disputed sections related to Border Patrol funding, DHS appropriations and additional screening funds for unaccompanied migrant children, necessitating revisions that have slowed progress.

Another major GOP priority — the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, which would require documentary proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in federal elections — has run aground in the Senate after passing the House on April 10. The measure has not secured the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster, and party leaders face divided views about whether to eliminate the filibuster to force passage. Former President Trump urged Republicans to scrap the filibuster; Sen. John Cornyn has advocated getting rid of it for the measure, but several senators, including Lisa Murkowski, Thom Tillis and former Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have opposed the bill or the procedural routes to pass it. Sen. Susan Collins joined as the legislation’s 50th co-sponsor in February, producing the potential for an evenly divided Senate and a tie-breaking vote by the vice president should the bill reach that point.

The intra-party tension has been visible in GOP primaries as well. Texas Republican Senate nominee Ken Paxton publicly said he would exit the Senate primary if the SAVE America Act passed, and he later defeated Sen. Cornyn in a runoff on Tuesday, a result that underscored the partisan and intra-party stakes tied to the legislation’s fate.

Beyond immigration and voting, House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised a third reconciliation package this summer focused on affordability and anti-fraud measures, and to deliver $1.5 trillion in spending cuts promised under the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” framework. Republicans have also delayed votes on other consequential measures: a war powers resolution that would restrict the president’s ability to continue military operations in Iran was postponed on May 21 amid absences, even as versions of the resolution have approached passage in the Senate where many Republicans have sought to defeat them. Public polling reflects strong disapproval of U.S. military action in Iran, with a PBS NewsHour survey showing 60% disapproval and an Ipsos poll finding 58% disapproval of strikes in Iran.

Economic pressures add urgency to the GOP’s legislative timetable. Inflation rose more than expected in April, with the Consumer Price Index up 0.6% seasonally adjusted after a 0.9% increase in March, and gasoline prices have surged more than 50% since the onset of the Iran conflict, averaging about $4.50 per gallon. A Quinnipiac poll from May 20 found 58% of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy, while 38% approved.

Congress is juggling additional deadlines and priorities that could shape voters’ perceptions this fall. The House passed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act on May 21, a package aimed at easing the housing crisis by expanding loans, curbing Wall Street’s ownership of single-family homes, loosening permitting rules and expanding manufactured housing; the House and Senate must reconcile differing versions before it can reach the president. Lawmakers are also racing to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act before its expiration on June 12 — legislation that has been repeatedly delayed amid negotiations — and to advance the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act to clarify cryptocurrency oversight. Separately, the BUILD America 250 Act, a five-year surface transportation reauthorization package, moved through committee on May 22 ahead of the Sept. 30 expiration of the current infrastructure law.

With a compressed calendar and a roster of divisive issues, GOP leaders face the difficult task of delivering legislative accomplishments that address voters’ concerns about the economy, immigration and national security before the midterms. House and Senate leaders say they will continue to press forward, but internal disagreements and procedural hurdles mean many of those priorities remain uncertain. Speaker Johnson’s office did not respond to requests for comment.