Senate Republicans consider reconciliation over alleged Minnesota fraud

Senate Republicans have been mulling whether to once again resort to a powerful but divisive legislative process, and tackling Minnesota’s ongoing fraud scandal could be at the top of their list.

Last year, congressional Republicans used the budget reconciliation process to tax the president. that of Donald Trump crowning the legislative accomplishment of his mandate thus far, his “one, big, beautiful bill.”

The Republican Party is considering trying the process again, which would allow it to pass partisan legislation without Democratic votes in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said one option could be to address the alleged problem fraud in Minnesota.

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“I think one of the issues that has been raised is the waste and fraud and abuse arising from the investigation in Minnesota, and whether there might be, you know, a bill that we could put together to address that issue,” Thune said when asked if Republicans would go through the reconciliation process once again.

“But I think there are, you know, a number of candidates to consider,” he continued. “I always think the best solution, if possible, is to try to do things in a regular order.”

The situation in Minnesota has become a hot topic at the Capitol since lawmakers returned for the new year and a new legislative session began this week.

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Federal prosecutors estimate that up to $9 billion in taxpayer money was stolen through a network of fraudulent fronts posing as child care centers, feeding programs and health clinics, among others.

Reconciliation has been a powerful tool for either party with a majority in Congress — congressional Democrats used the process to pass former President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act years ago.

But it is a long, drawn-out process that laid bare divisions within the party last year and nearly imploded before leaving the walls of Congress. Still, some Senate Republicans have been banging the drum for another chance, particularly to address the nation’s growing affordability problem.

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Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Lindsey Graham, RS.C., who acts as the de facto quarterback of the process, has signaled that he is willing to make another attempt at reconciliation.

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Thune did not close the door on using this process, but reiterated that if Congress wants to reopen Pandora’s Box, it must have a good reason to do so.

“I’ve always said that if you want to do reconciliation, you really have to have a reason to do it,” he said. “What are we talking about here? And, you know, is this something that the House and the White House all agree to do?”