House Republicans find it difficult to focus on rising costs as they plot 2026 agenda. 1/2
A longshot elections bill and an uphill reconciliation fight dominated the yearly policy conference.
(Do any anons believe this?)
DORAL, Fla. — House Republicans arrived at their yearly policy retreat aiming to craft a 2026 agenda that will help them keep their majority in the upcoming midterms.But they left with few specifics on what more they can do before the election to quell voter angst about higher prices.
Speaker Mike Johnson told GOP members in a private session Wednesday closing out the retreat thathe remains intent on pursuing a new party-line domestic policy bill to follow on last year’s tax-cuts-focused megabill.
While that legislation could theoretically tackle some cost-of-living issues,Johnson didn’t offer any specific policies that would be included or a timeline for passing it, according to four people in the room granted anonymityto describe the private meeting. Some senior Republicans present at the meetings privately warned they don’t have much time left for such a big legislative lift.
Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), chair of the hard-line House Freedom Caucus, said he awaited party leaders’ ideas for a second megabill, which would be passed through the party line reconciliation process. But he was candid about the GOP’s limited legislative options before November.
“The bottom line is that inflation is stable, gas prices are going to come down once the Iran conflict is over, we’ll deal with housing in some way,” he said. “I mean, the American people will see the stability in inflation. They’ll see the stability in energy and gas prices. And, you know, that’s probably all we’re going to be able to do before the midterms.”
The GOP’s inability to coalesce behind an election year economic agenda is being driven in no small part by President Donald Trump, who opened the retreat by telling House Republicans their “No. 1 priority” should be passing an GOP overhaul of federal elections, with new restrictions on transgender rights tacked on.
Trump all but dismissed the affordability issue, noting at one point that Americans “don’t talk about housing, they don’t talk about anything” except for the SAVE America Act — the elections bill he’s pushing the House to pass a third time.
Asked about the divide between voters’ top priority and the president’s, Rep. Lisa McClain of Michigan said, “I don’t think it’s an ‘or.’ I think it’s an ‘and.’”
“When you look at economic issues, that is really what is important to a lot of Americans,” said McClain, the No. 4 Republican leader. “It’s pocketbook issues, right? So it’s an ‘and’ not an ‘or.’”
Trump’s obsession with the elections bill — and Johnson’s determination to pursue a reconciliation bill despite long odds — leaving Republicans with a tough task in addressing rising prices on everyday goods, which remain an issue of top concern to voters.
Even the new pressure on energy pricesfrom Trump’s decision to join Israel in launching a war on Iran has yet to spur GOP lawmakers into action. Most, like Harris, simply asserted oil prices would come down soon enough.
Pressed on affordability issues, Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-Ind.) raised the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, noting it’s “disrupting travel” and “people’s lives,” as he also made the case for the Trump-backed elections bill.
https://www.politico.com/news/2026/03/11/house-gop-affordability-midterms-00824205