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Month: April 2025

House Committees Resume Reconciliation Markups

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

Key authorizing committees are meeting today to resume markups of their respective portions of the GOP reconciliation bill. After the Armed Services, Education & Workforce, and Homeland Security Committees approved their pieces of reconciliation yesterday, the Financial Services, Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I), Judiciary, and Oversight Committees are on tap for today. Of note, T&I Republicans are poised to a make series of last-minute changes to their bill before today’s markup, including: (1) removing a $20 passenger vehicle fee; (2) boosting the annual electric vehicle fee up to $250 from the original $200; (3) paring back funding for the Air Traffic Control (ATC) system to $12.5 billion, down from the original $15 billion; and (4) reducing the topline number for Coast Guard funding from $23 billion to $21.2 billion.

  • Situational awareness. While Republicans are making significant progress toward enacting “one big, beautiful bill” containing President Trump’s legislative priorities, there are still several key debates ongoing with respect to the tax package, cuts to public benefit programs like Medicaid and SNAP, rolling back Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) green energy tax credits, state and local tax (SALT) deduction limits, and possibly more. Of note, leadership is expected to hold meetings today with rank-and-file lawmakers on Medicaid and SALT, respectively. Discussions are expected to intensify ahead of the Energy and Commerce (E&C) and Ways and Means markups, which are being targeted for next week. However, the timing for these markups could slip as these discussions continue. Meanwhile, additional clarity as to when Congress needs to address the debt ceiling is expected this week — a date that will act as “kind of a hard deadline” for getting the reconciliation bill on the president’s desk, according to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).

Clarity on Debt Ceiling Expected Next Week

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

Congress is expected to receive additional clarity from the Treasury Department as to when the federal government could run out of borrowing power — a key factor that could accelerate consideration of the GOP reconciliation bill. Specifically, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is reportedly slated to provide Congress with an update as to when the “X date” will fall. According to a projection from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) earlier this month, the federal government could run out of “extraordinary measures” to prevent a default by August or September, but this could get pushed earlier into the late spring or summer if tax revenue comes in below expectations. To the extent that Treasury’s estimate aligns closer to June or July, that will be a catalyst for congressional Republicans to mobilize on reconciliation to raise the debt ceiling as soon as possible. On the other hand, an August or September X date could also provide some GOP lawmakers with a justification to hold off while lingering debates over the total cost of the package, cuts to public benefit programs like Medicaid and SNAP, as well as key tax policy decisions are resolved.

TRP Ranks Among Nation’s Fastest-Growing Lobbying Firms

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

Results like this don’t happen overnight. According to a new analysis of disclosure filings from Bloomberg Government, Thorn Run Partners (TRP) grew its book of business by an impressive 467% over the past decade, placing us among the top-performing firms in Washington from 2014-2024.

“Also experiencing a dramatic jump from 2014 to 2024 was Thorn Run Partners, with a 467% gain in revenue reported on legislative disclosure forms — to $29.8 million, up from $5.25 million,” according to the report. “They’re among nine firms that more than doubled reported lobbying revenue since BGOV started analyzing the annual data.”

“As we celebrate this milestone, we remain deeply grateful to the clients, colleagues, and partners who have made our growth possible. said TRP co-founders Chris Lamond and Andy Rosenberg. “We’re proud of how far we’ve come — and energized for what’s ahead.”

Founded in 2010, TRP was built on the foundation of bipartisan expertise, client service, and strategic policy insight. That foundation continues to guide our growth as we help our clients navigate this constantly-evolving policy landscape.

Interested in learning more about TRP’s practice areas, products, or services? Let’s connect and discuss how we can help.

Congress Breaks After GOP Adopts Budget Resolution

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

Congress wrapped up legislative business last week after Republicans successfully unlocked the reconciliation process to pass “one big, beautiful bill” containing President Donald Trump’s legislative priorities on tax, border, energy, and more. Pursuant to the budget resolution, committees of instruction have until Friday, May 9 to produce their respective reconciliation bills, and Republicans are trying to move as quickly as possible through the upcoming May work period with the goal of passing the reconciliation bill before Memorial Day.

  • When lawmakers return to Washington at the end of the month, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said that committees will begin holding markups on their respective instructions that will be combined into a single reconciliation bill. According to news reports from over the weekend, the first markups in the House Judiciary, Homeland Security, and Armed Services Committees are being eyed for the week of April 28. Meanwhile, timing for markups in the Energy and Commerce (E&C) and Ways and Means Committees are not clear as of now given some of the ongoing discussions on tax policy and spending cuts. However, action on reconciliation could speed up significantly depending on when the Treasury Department’s “X date” — the date in which the federal government is projected to hit its borrowing limit — falls. While the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) recently suggested that the X date could be in August or September, late May or June remains possible if tax revenue falls below expectations, according to CBO’s forecast.
  • What to watch. Congress has until December 31, 2025 to extend the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), and Republicans are aiming to do so well ahead of the sunset deadline. We’ll be looking to see where the chips fall on key debates around TCJA permanence, the state and local tax (SALT) deduction, Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) clean energy tax credits, as well as numerous campaign promises from the President like no tax on Social Security benefits and tipped wages. Republicans also need to hash out key disagreements over the size and scope of cuts to public benefit programs like Medicaid and SNAP to ensure that the reconciliation package can pass with the requisite number of GOP votes in both chambers.

House Adopts Budget Resolution to Unlock GOP Reconciliation Effort

Posted on by Thorn Run Partners

The House formally adopted [216-214] the updated GOP budget resolution to officially unlock the reconciliation process for President Trump’s legislative agenda on tax, border, energy, and more. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) originally intended to hold a vote on the updated resolution during yesterday’s session, but more than a dozen GOP lawmakers expressed concerns about the lack of clarity around spending cuts within the reconciliation effort — the Senate’s instructions hover around $4 billion, much less than the $1.5 trillion in reductions eyed in the original House resolution. Nevertheless, Republicans on the House Freedom Caucus were assuaged by comments from Speaker Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) about their willingness to pursue spending cuts deemed adequate by the Conference and the Trump administration. These holdouts, including Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC), Andy Harris (R-MD), Eric Burlison (R-MO), and more, ultimately supported the resolution during this morning’s vote.

  • What’s next? Pursuant to the budget resolution, committees of instruction have until Friday, May 9 to produce their respective reconciliation bills. It is expected that Republicans will try to move as quickly as possible through the upcoming May work period with the goal of passing the reconciliation bill before Memorial Day. However, intraparty discussions over the size and scope of spending cuts —  particularly as it pertains to public benefit programs like Medicaid and SNAP — as well as permanently extending the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), will need to be carefully navigated in order to maintain this timeline.
  • On the Senate side… The chamber is set to pass a resolution of disapproval to overturn a Biden-era regulation relating to “Energy Conservation Program: Energy Conservation Standards for Consumer Gas-fired Instantaneous Water Heaters.” A final confirmation vote on Mark Meador’s nomination to be a Federal Trade Commissioner is also slated for today.