DORAL, Fla.—House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on March 10 floated the possibility of passing a party-line spending package this year that would target alleged fraud, waste, and abuse in states run by Democrats.

During a press conference at the House Republican annual policy and planning retreat in Doral, Florida, Johnson and other House GOP leadership touted last year’s spending and tax cuts legislation as a counterargument to Democrats’ criticisms about rising prices during President Donald Trump’s second term.

Asked if he would pursue another reconciliation bill this year ahead of the 2026 midterms, Johnson said he’s been a “champion for reconciliation as one of the important tools in the toolbox” for Congress.

“I think that we can come together and envision a Venn diagram as I do: What are those handful of issues that are in the center of those concentric circles that is something that every Republican can agree on, that is great things for the country?” Johnson said.

A “central theme of all this,” he said, is that Republicans will continue to try to lower the cost of living for Americans, but also “stand up [to] fraud, waste, abuse.”

“You’ve seen the fraud that’s been put on display in states like Minnesota. California is being audited for some of their fraud, some of the big blue states, I think, they’ve got serious problems,” Johnson said. “We can use potentially reconciliation as a vehicle to address some of that as well.”

Majority parties in Congress often use reconciliation packages to sidestep the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold, but the legislation is limited to policies related to spending, revenue, and the nation’s debt limit.

This past week, House Oversight Committee Republicans questioned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, both Democrats, over a fraud scandal embroiling the state’s social services.

Walz has defended his administration and alleged during the hearing that the Trump administration “targeted” Minnesota.

“Under the guise of combating fraud, the federal government has flooded Minnesota with masked, untrained, and unaccountable agents who are wreaking havoc in our communities,” Walz said.

Democrats have also accused the Trump administration of making cuts to social services like Medicaid to fund tax cuts and additional resources for the Department of Homeland Security. The additional funding has allowed the agency to deploy federal agents throughout cities run by Democratic mayors.

Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have repeatedly criticized Democrats for the Minnesota fraud cases, which have led to dozens being charged and convicted, and have predicted that potential investigations into other blue states would reveal more fraud-related scandals.

Speaking shortly after Johnson’s press conference, Rep. Mike Kennedy (R-Utah) told The Epoch Times that targeting fraud and abuse in other states could free up additional money for another reconciliation package. He said it could include supplemental funding for the military.

“It’s very clear that on one side, we have $10 billion estimated waste, fraud, and abuse going on in Minnesota, and if you replicate that throughout our country—just working on waste, fraud and abuse—we have a bundle of money that potentially we could use, not only for our own nation’s defense and to carry out this conflict in Iran but many other possible programs,” Kennedy said.

The House speaker also suggested that supplemental military funding may be tied to reconciliation this year.

In response to a question by The Epoch Times on Tuesday, Johnson said he thought a “supplemental funding bill for [the] military is inevitable” amid the ongoing U.S. military campaign in Iran.

Obstacles to Reconciliation

Despite Johnson’s optimism toward passing a second party-line reconciliation bill under the 119th Congress, House Ways and Means Committee Chair Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.)—a key architect of last year’s spending package—suggested it might be an uphill battle for House Republicans.

“If you look at history, it is extremely rare for two partisan reconciliation bills to ever pass in the same Congress, extremely rare,” Smith told reporters shortly after Johnson’s initial remarks on Tuesday.

“I would absolutely love a second reconciliation bill. I would love that, but I just don’t think it will ever happen.”

Johnson said he’s a “little more optimistic” than Smith while speaking with NBC News during a fireside chat from Doral Tuesday afternoon.

“Let’s be realistic, it will not be as big, but it can be just as beautiful—reconciliation 2.0 can be just as beautiful,” Johnson said, referring to last year’s reconciliation package that was dubbed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“I am in the process, as is necessary in a single vote, razor-thin margin majority—I have to find consensus, basically to find unanimity,” he said.

The House Speaker said he is trying to determine what “small subset of issues” would allow all Republicans to vote in unison, which is required to pass another reconciliation package with the party’s current House majority.

“It’s a long process, but I think if we put that together, it will be much smaller in scope, but I do think it’s something that is still a priority for the leadership team,” Johnson added.

Correction: A previous version of this article misstated in one instance Rep. Mike Johnson’s party affiliation. The Epoch Times regrets the error.