House Speaker Mike Johnson, left, said President Donald Trump's agenda bill could defund "big abortion." (Getty/Reuters)
The House Energy & Commerce Committee alone is tasked with finding $880 billion in spending cuts under its jurisdiction, while intra-GOP disagreements over how to handle potential Medicaid cuts persist.
Republicans are working to use the reconciliation process to pass a vast bill with Trump's priorities on the border, immigration, taxes, defense, energy and the debt limit sometime this spring or summer.
By lowering the Senate's threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, it allows the party controlling both houses of Congress and the White House to pass sweeping legislation while entirely sidelining the opposition, in this case Democrats.
The first major hurdle, passing a framework with "instructions" for various committees to find spending cuts or ways to enact a small increase, was passed earlier this year.
The Energy & Commerce Committee has a wide jurisdiction that includes health, energy, telecommunications and other policies.
Democrats and other critics of Republicans' reconciliation plans have accused them of trying to slash critical programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security while trying to pay for Trump's other priorities.
However, Republicans have consistently said they will not touch Medicare, and Trump is pushing them to drop taxes on retirees' Social Security as part of the bill.
How deeply to cut Medicaid, however, has been the subject of fierce debate between fiscal hawks and Republican lawmakers in blue states.
Rep. Mary Miller has been pushing for such a measure. (Michael B. Thomas/Getty Images)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., alluded to Republicans' plans in a speech at the interest group's gala earlier this week.
Johnson said Republicans' reconciliation bill would redirect funds from "big abortion" to "federally qualified health centers" on Tuesday night.
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When reached for comment, a spokesman for the House Energy & Commerce Committee told Fox News Digital, "Chairman Guthrie, along with other Energy and Commerce Republicans, have been and are continuing to work with members across the Republican Conference to deliver on President Trump’s agenda through the reconciliation process."
"The committee is not yet ready to comment on any policy-specific items that may or may not be included in the final bill text. Energy and Commerce is examining a full menu of options from the committee’s broad jurisdiction such as energy, environment, health, telecommunications, and more," the spokesman said.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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