Trump, leaders to plot agenda
List of issues to be tackled in 2018 lengthy
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump plans to start the new year by meeting with Republican congressional leaders to plot the 2018 legislative agenda, the White House said.
After returning to Washington from Florida, where he is spending the holidays, Trump will host House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin and Senate Majority Leader Mitch Mcconnell of Kentucky at the rustic Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland during the weekend of Jan. 6-7.
Spokesmen for Ryan and Mcconnell have confirmed they will attend.
The powwow will follow the recent enactment of legislation to cut taxes for corporations and individuals.
While the tax bill ends the requirement that all Americans buy health insurance or pay a fine, which is a key component of the Affordable Care Act, it leaves intact other features of the health care law.
The agenda for next year is already lengthy.
Trump predicted in a tweet earlier this week that Democrats and Republicans will “eventually come together” to develop a new health care plan.
The president is also forecasting unity between the parties on spending to upgrade aging roads, bridges and other transportation. The White House has said Trump will unveil his long-awaited infrastructure plan in January.
Ryan, meanwhile, has talked about overhauling Medicaid and Medicare and other welfare programs, but Mcconnell has signaled an unwillingness to go that route unless there’s Democratic support for any changes. Trump has also said he wants to pursue “welfare reform” next year because “people are taking advantage of the system.”
Congress, meanwhile, will open the year facing a backlog from 2017.
The list includes agreeing by Jan. 19 on a government funding bill to avert a partial government shutdown and to boost Pentagon spending. Lawmakers also must agree on billions in additional aid to help hurricane victims, lifting the debt ceiling so the United States can pay its bills, extending a children’s health insurance program and drafting protections for immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.