House Republicans will gather Monday at President Trump's Doral, Fla., resort for a three-day issues conference aimed at charting their legislative agenda for the year ahead and sharpening their message for the 2026 midterm elections.
The meeting comes after a turbulent week for the GOP conference. Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) confessed to having an affair with a staffer who died last year after setting herself on fire, prompting an outcry within the party. Facing pressure from House GOP leadership and many of his colleagues, Gonzales announced he will not seek reelection.
There's also the conflict with Iran. Trump, who had promised his supporters he wouldn't pull the U.S. into another war, decided to launch strikes against the Middle Eastern country in what was the start of the administration's Operation Epic Fury.
And while Republicans have largely rallied behind the operation, there is still some growing unease within the party over how long the conflict could last as the midterm season ramps up.
The conference gives House Republicans an opportunity to regroup and coalesce around a shared agenda, as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) navigates a razor-thin majority and works to advance legislation backed by Trump.
What else you can expect this week:
- DHS talks continue: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown now stretches into a fourth week, as the White House and Senate Democrats remain locked in an impasse over immigration enforcement policy reforms.
- Senate to take up housing bill: The Senate will consider a sweeping bipartisan housing package, dubbed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, sponsored by Sens. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
Johnson may have only a narrow window to push much of Trump's legislative agenda over the finish line, as the president's party historically suffers losses in midterm elections.
And one topic certain to pop up in discussions among Republicans is the push for a second reconciliation package. Trump told news anchors before his State of the Union address last month that he wants new personal and corporate tax cuts this year and wants to use reconciliation to pass them, according to CNBC News.
Reconciliation is a special process that allows a party with unified control of Washington to bypass the Senate filibuster, lending them a major opportunity to move legislation that couldn't pass otherwise. Republicans used the process to enact Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year.
Republicans will also likely discuss an Iran supplemental funding package, as the operation ramps up. Trump has previously said that he projects the operation to last four to five weeks. He wrote in a Truth Social post Friday, "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!"
The retreat will also give Republicans a chance to refine their economic and foreign policy messaging as the 2026 primaries ramp up, amid voter concerns over inflation, national security and government spending.
Trump is expected to give remarks to House Republicans during the retreat.
Democrats dug in on DHS funding despite Noem ouster
Trump's recent decision to replace Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) sent shock waves throughout Capitol Hill. But Democratic leaders insist it will have little effect on the DHS funding fight.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said in a statement last week that "a change in personnel is not sufficient."
"House Democrats will continue to demand bold, meaningful and transformational changes until ICE, CBP and all DHS agencies and officers conduct themselves in a manner consistent with every law enforcement agency in the country," he added.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote on the social platform X that he would not support Mullin as Noem's replacement, arguing that "the Senate should not consider any DHS Secretary nominee until DHS and ICE are reined in."
Both the White House and Democrats had been exchanging counterproposals, but each side has dismissed the other's as inadequate, leaving negotiations at a standstill. Republicans had been pressuring Democrats to support a DHS bill in the wake of the Iran conflict.
The House passed a DHS funding bill last week, but it will likely be dead on arrival in the Senate, as it will need some Democratic support to overcome a filibuster. Senate Democrats also blocked a DHS funding measure last week, with Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) as the only Democrat to vote for it.
Senate to consider bipartisan housing bill
The Senate this week is moving forward with procedural votes to advance a housing package, dubbed the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, according to a Senate aide.
The legislation combines provisions from the Housing for the 21st Century Act, which overwhelmingly passed the House last month, and the ROAD to Housing Act, which passed the Senate Banking Committee unanimously last year.
"Not only is this bill about cutting regulatory red tape, lowering costs, and expanding housing supply while generating no new spending, but it's about making sure people like the single mom who raised me in North Charleston, S.C., have even greater access to economic opportunity and the American dream of homeownership," Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), chair of the Senate Banking Committee, said in a statement.
But the bill will have to be sent back to the House, where it will likely face opposition from some members of the Republican conference.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) wrote on X, "This bill should NOT come to the House floor! The Senate gutted all of our provisions and the Trump agenda."
House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) wrote in a statement, first provided to Punchbowl News, that lawmakers may need to go to conference and have "further negotiations" to iron out their differences on the bill.
"There are members in the House whose provisions and views were not accounted for in the current iteration of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act," Hill said in a statement to the outlet.