DORAL, Fla. — The lawmaker in charge of House Republicans’ elections arm is feeling confident that the GOP can buck historical precedent and hold onto their majority for the entirety of President Donald Trump’s term.

The 2024 elections saw Republicans make significant inroads with Hispanic and Black voters.

National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Richard Hudson, R-N.C., said progress would continue heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

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"We’ve done well with African Americans, comparatively," Hudson told Fox News Digital, referring to years prior. "We've put a lot more effort in reaching out to that community as well and letting them know that we want your votes, and we want to represent you, and we care about the issues that matter to you and your family."

"I think we can do better, and we'll continue to attempt to do better. But, look, our message, our values, our principles are all universal."

He said Republicans’ values also lined up with Hispanic and Latino voters, 42% of whom supported Trump, according to the Associated Press.

"We are focused on the issues you care about," Hudson said the pitch was. "It's crime in your neighborhoods. It's education for your children. It's securing the borders. It's the price of things for your family. I mean, these are all things we campaigned on. But we deliberately went out into the Hispanic community and said, ‘We want your vote.’ And they responded."

Earlier in the interview, he credited Trump with delivering on those values in 2024, and argued that Trump’s policies would get Republicans over the line again next year.

Historically, the first midterm after a new presidential term serves as a rebuke of the party in power.

Democrats won the House of Representatives in a "blue wave" in 2018 during Trump’s first term. Four years later, Republicans wrestled it back under former President Joe Biden.

But the circumstances are somewhat different this time, something Hudson noted.

"We’re in a unique time in history, where you had a president serve four years with all his policies, and then he was replaced by another president who had completely different policies. . . . And then the two ran against each other," Hudson said. "So the American people sort of had a referendum on which president they wanted, which policies they chose, and they overwhelmingly selected Donald Trump."

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Trump is in his second term, and Hudson argued that the 2024 presidential race was a referendum between two clear White House records.

"He has a mandate that I think is unique in history. And so this isn't a first-term president going into his first midterm. I mean, this is someone the American people know, and they've chosen," Hudson said.

Hudson also pointed out that Democrats will be defending 13 lawmakers whose districts Trump won, while Republicans only had to hold onto three seats that voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

"The battlefield out there for us going into 2026 favors Republicans," Hudson said. 

He spoke with Fox News Digital at Trump National Doral golf course and resort in South Florida, where Republicans held their three-day retreat to strategize their agenda.

Hudson was one of the senior Republicans who gave a presentation to fellow lawmakers during the event, where his message was: "We’re on offense this cycle."

"We're going to lean in. We have a lot of opportunity in those Donald Trump seats," Hudson said he told colleagues. "We're going to hold Democrats accountable for their voting against the policies the American people want."

The Congress needs new revenue in order to pass a budget and unlock the reconciliation process—whether in "one big beautiful bill" or two—if it is going to accomplish President Trump’s agenda without bleeding massive and ongoing amounts of deficit spending.

The national debt is currently more than $36 trillion. We pay interest on that debt, an expenditure which is growing rapidly. And we need to pay that debt down not raise it with higher debt service. We also need new expenditures—a massive increase in procurement in the Department of Defense for example—expenditures that, if not at least partially offset by cuts to ongoing spending or new revenue, will see the debt cross $40 trillion in the president’s second term. Here are four suggestions for the GOP budgeteers:

1. Americans are thrifty. They have socked away more than $37 trillion in retirement savings in 401(k) plans and traditional IRAs. Those savings have never been taxed. They will be taxed upon withdrawal. Most savers don’t want to withdraw that money until they retire and their tax bracket drops. In fact, a lot of that will be never be withdrawn by the folks who saved it but will be passed on to heirs. So, Congress, open a one time window that allows those savers to convert those funds to Roth IRAs for a one-time flat tax of say 10% or 15% or whatever yields the present value of the deferred taxation. Get the money now for use in the budget/reconciliation process.

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2. Sell federal land and federal spectrum rights. Credit to AEI’s Matt Continetti for this suggestion. The U.S. has a lot of land and a lot of spectrum. Auction some of it. Maybe a lot of it. That will increase productivity in the country and bring in revenue.

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3. Make so-called "sin taxes" great again. In recent years, many states have legalized both marijuana and online gambling. Those are facts. They are stubborn. They were both bad policy choices, but states have the police power unless preempted by federal legislation. The Congress has no stomach for outlawing either industry, so impose a federal tax on every sale of a marijuana-related product and on every single gambling transaction over the internet. Preempt the states’ revenue streams and put the first dollars of the taxes on those activities into the federal treasury and perhaps the states will rethink these bad ideas. If not, at least the malign developments of dope and betting will help the country as a whole pay for the negative externalities of both and with the debt and deficit.

4. Enact in the new budget a 10 percent "reduction-in-force" of the federal civilian workforce and make that authorization "notwithstanding any other law or regulation." Congress built the beast of the federal administrative state. It can authorize the president to take an ax to it—no questions asked. Every business in America knows that when the books don’t balance, the workforce gets trimmed. Time for the federal government to do the same thing, difficult as it is for the employees affected.

There are four sources of new revenue to use in the first new budget. They alone will yield trillions in one-time revenue and billions in ongoing revenue without raising income taxes. C’mon Congress. Get creative.

Hugh Hewitt is host of "The Hugh Hewitt Show," heard weekday mornings 6am to 9am ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on Salem News Channel. Hugh wakes up America on over 400 affiliates nationwide, and on all the streaming platforms where SNC can be seen. He is a frequent guest on the Fox News Channel’s news roundtable hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A son of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law since 1996 where he teaches Constitutional Law. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990.  Hewitt has frequently appeared on every major national news television network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American paper, has authored a dozen books and moderated a score of Republican candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump over his 40 years in broadcast, and this column previews the lead story that will drive his radio/ TV show today.

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EXCLUSIVE: DORAL, Fla. — Leaders within the House GOP's largest caucus are drawing a red line in congressional Republicans' budget talks.

The Republican Study Committee's (RSC) steering group is calling for any budget reconciliation plan to ultimately lead to reductions in the U.S. deficit, which occurs when the federal government's spending outpaces its revenues in a given fiscal year.

"Reconciliation legislation must reduce the federal budget deficit. Our national security depends on our ability to bring about meaningful fiscal reform," the official position, first obtained by Fox News Digital, said. 

RSC leaders met behind closed doors at House Republicans' annual retreat to hash out their stance. GOP lawmakers were at Trump National Doral golf course in Florida for three days of discussions on reconciliation and other fiscal deadlines looming on the horizon.

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They have been negotiating for weeks on how to use their razor-thin majorities in the House and Senate to pass massive conservative policy changes through the budget reconciliation process.

By reducing the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a 51-seat simple majority, reconciliation allows a party in control of both congressional chambers to enact sweeping changes, provided they are relevant to budgetary and fiscal policy.

At 178 members, RSC is House Republicans' largest inter-conference group. It often acts as the House GOP's de facto "think tank" on policy matters.

The group is being led this year by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas. Its previous chairman is Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who was recently elected House Republican Policy Committee chair – an example of RSC's close ties to GOP leadership.

Republican lawmakers have their work cut out for them this year as they work to unify for congressional leaders' preferred timeline for the reconciliation process.

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Wednesday that he intends to have a House-wide vote on an initial budget resolution in late February.

But once Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., departs for the Trump administration as expected, House Republicans will not be able to afford any defections to pass legislation along party lines. In the Senate, the GOP can lose two lawmakers to still meet the 51-vote threshold.

And President Donald Trump outlined several specific policies he wants Republicans to include in their reconciliation legislation – including no taxes on tips or overtime pay and more funding for the U.S.-Mexico border – which could add to the federal deficit if not paired with significant spending cuts.

Republicans have floated various ways to achieve those cuts, including adding work requirements to federal benefits and rolling back progressive regulations enacted during the Biden administration.

Johnson said he wanted Republicans' final product to be deficit-neutral or better.

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"Anything we do, is going to be deficit-neutral at least, and hopefully deficit-reducing, because we think we've got to change that trajectory," he said on Wednesday. "So that is part of the healthy discussion we've been having. And everyone has lots of opinions about that, of course. And, the opinions are welcomed."

The U.S. is running a cumulative deficit of $710 billion in fiscal year 2025 so far, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center. It's $200 billion more than the same period in FY 2024.

Meanwhile federal revenues were $1.1 trillion through December, a decrease of 2% from the same period prior, the group said.

DORAL, Fla. — The House GOP’s three-day annual retreat has ended without public progress on Republicans’ budget reconciliation plans, and some lawmakers are getting nervous about falling behind schedule.

"After two days at our House Republican winter retreat, we still do not have a plan on budget reconciliation and our Speaker and his team have not offered one," Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X Wednesday morning.

"Basically, just get started doing something. We have only been presented with the same policy and budget cut proposals that we have been presented with for a month now at all our meetings and at a full Saturday conference meeting earlier this month."

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters Tuesday an initial "blueprint" would be "prepared by tomorrow, by the time we leave." 

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The budget reconciliation process allows the majority party in the House and Senate, in this case Republicans, to pass a broad-ranging conservative policy overhaul, provided the contents are relevant to the budget and other fiscal matters. It does so by lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51.

It starts with a budget resolution that includes instructions for specific committees to work toward changes to fiscal policy law under their respective jurisdictions, including topline numbers.

When asked by reporters about whether he expects those broad toplines to emerge on Wednesday morning, Johnson said, "We'll be getting to that final number. What we've emphasized with our group is that we want to have some flexibility in the how the instructions are given to the committees.

"Stay tuned for the number. It will be substantial, because it has to be. I mean, we have a $36 trillion federal debt, and we're committing that in this process. Anything we do is going to be deficit neutral, at least, or deficit-reducing," he said.

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Johnson said later in the press conference, "The objective is to, by the time we leave here today, to have a blueprint that will inform the budget committee for when they work on that budget resolution."

The details and parameters of that blueprint are not immediately clear.

By Wednesday afternoon, however, a majority of lawmakers who were staying at President Donald Trump’s golf resort in Doral, Florida, left without a sense of their next steps.

"I think the general feeling is leadership needs to make a play call and start executing on it," one House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital. 

Asked about being optimistic about leaders making that call soon, the lawmaker said, "They better if they want to get this done."

Another House Republican said the meetings were "productive" but with a caveat — "as long as leadership takes our input, ideas and concerns seriously."

Other GOP lawmakers signaled they were exasperated by weeks of "listening sessions" among Republicans that have not led to specific directives from House leaders.

Some were more optimistic, however. A third House Republican told Fox News Digital, "I think Speaker Johnson has us pointed the right way and the eight committees that will make up reconciliation have a plan."

"I think it will come together," they said. 

Johnson said he was confident that the House Budget Committee would have its "blueprint" to work from when Congress is back "to the hill," which is next week.

"That's going to happen, and we'll get it through the whole chamber. And we'll be voting on that by late February," he said.

DORAL, Fla. — House Republicans have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks, with three fiscal deadlines looming and President Donald Trump pushing for a very active first 100 days of his administration.

Congressional GOP leaders are working on a massive conservative policy overhaul via the reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to a simple 51-seat majority, it allows the party in power to advance their policy goals into law, provided those policies deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters.

"We want to deliver on all the things that President Trump talked about during the campaign… including no tax on tips, which was one of those early items that the president talked about, but also ensuring no tax increases happen. We can fully fund our border security needs, making sure we build the wall out, that we give more technology and tools to our Border Patrol agents," House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told Fox News Digital.

"We can produce more energy in America… try to get rid of some of these crazy rules and regulations that add so much cost for no good reason to families."

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Scalise said it would be "much more robust" than Republicans’ last reconciliation bill passed in 2017 – the last time the GOP controlled Congress and the White House.

His optimism comes as congressional Republicans still appear divided over how best to enact their plans. Senate Republicans and some GOP hardliners in the House have argued that trying to pass a bill with border and energy policies first would give Trump a quick win, while allowing more time for more complex issues like taxes.

But House leaders are concerned that, given Republicans last passed two reconciliation bills in one year in the 1990s with much larger majorities, the two-track strategy could allow Trump’s 2017 provisions to expire and raise taxes on millions of families.

"You have to start somewhere. We're starting with one package," Scalise said. "No disagreement on the details of what we're going to include."

Meanwhile, lawmakers are also contending with the debt ceiling being reinstated this month after it was temporarily suspended in a bipartisan deal during the Biden administration. At least one projection suggests Congress will have until mid-June or earlier to deal with it or risk financial turmoil that comes with a downgrade in the U.S.’s national credit rating.

And coming on March 14 is the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, which Congress has extended twice since the end of the previous fiscal year on Oct. 1.

The No. 2 House Republican floated the possibility of combining those latter two deadlines.

"The Appropriations Committee, which is not directly involved in budget reconciliation, is simultaneously having a negotiation with the Senate on government funding, you know, working with the White House to make sure it meets President Trump's priorities," Scalise said. 

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"I would imagine the debt ceiling could very well be a part of that conversation in that negotiation."

Scalise spoke with Fox News Digital at the House GOP’s annual retreat, held this year at Trump’s golf club in Doral, Florida.

Lawmakers huddled behind closed doors for three days to hash out a roadmap for grappling with their multiple deadlines and enacting Trump’s agenda.

They also heard from the president himself, as well as Vice President JD Vance.

Trump has on multiple occasions called on Republicans to act on the debt limit to avoid a U.S. credit default. Vance told Republicans on Tuesday that Trump wanted them to do so without giving leverage to Democrats – a weighty task given some GOP hardliners’ opposition to raising or suspending the limit over the U.S.’s $36 trillion national debt.  

House GOP leaders can currently only afford one defection to still pass a bill along party lines.

They’ve been forced to seek Democratic support on government funding multiple times, including most recently in December. 

With no topline agreement reached and roughly 19 days in session before the March 14 deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, it’s becoming increasingly likely that congressional leaders will have to combine all 12 annual appropriations bills into one massive "omnibus," a move also generally opposed by GOP hardliners.

"I think we're getting closer," Scalise said of a topline number for fiscal year 2025 spending. "The House and Senate were apart by a pretty sizable amount of money. They’re trying to negotiate that down to get a resolution."

President Donald Trump is expected to address House Republicans at their annual retreat on Monday as lawmakers work to enact his goal for a busy first 100 days of the new administration.

It’s another sign of the House GOP conference’s push for unity with Trump that the conference is being held at Trump National Doral, his golf course and resort near Miami.

"He’s going to come and address the Republicans there, and we’re looking forward to that," Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., confirmed to reporters last week.

Trump has made no secret of his intent to keep a close eye on the Republican majorities in the House and Senate this year, particularly as they discuss how to use their numbers to pass a massive conservative policy overhaul via the budget reconciliation process.

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By reducing the threshold for Senate passage from 60 votes to a 51-seat simple majority, reconciliation allows a party in control of both congressional chambers to enact sweeping changes, provided they’re relevant to budgetary and fiscal policy.

Meanwhile, lawmakers are also contending with the debt ceiling being reinstated this month after it was temporarily suspended in a bipartisan deal during the Trump administration.

And coming on March 14 is the deadline to avert a partial government shutdown, which Congress has extended twice since the end of the previous fiscal year on Oct. 1.

"I think obviously everyone is ready to get to work," Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. "With President Trump’s inauguration behind us, now we’re focused on the task at hand – everything from the border to the tax package, energy and defense and national security, and our debt. What we need to do over the next two years to really fulfill the agenda that we laid out for the American people."

Lawler said he anticipated reconciliation would be a key focus of Trump’s remarks.

With razor-thin margins in the House and Senate, Republicans can afford few dissenters if they are going to get to the finish line. 

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Lawler is one of several Republicans who have drawn red lines in the discussions, vowing not to vote for a reconciliation bill that does not lift state and local tax (SALT) deduction caps – limits that have put a strain on suburban districts outside major cities.

He was realistic about setting expectations for their short Florida trip but was optimistic Republicans would eventually come together.

"I think we’re in the middle of the process and, you know, this is obviously not going to be resolved over these three days," Lawler said. "But this is, I think, an important opportunity for everyone to really sit down and spend their time going through a lot of these issues."

EXCLUSIVE: Female Republicans in Congress are fighting to change the decadeslong narrative that paints Democrats as the party of women, hoping it transcends to significant gains in future elections.

"We’ve got to get back to our roots of being the party of women," Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Fox News Digital. "I don’t know why we ever allowed the Democrats to hijack the narrative and claim to be the party of women. That’s bull."

Other GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital about this story noted that cost of living, a cornerstone issue for Republicans in the last election, was as much a women's issue as anyone else's.

Republicans have also passed several bills since winning that election that have put women at the focus of conservative policy changes on transgender youth and border security.

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"You should not let the Democrat Party tell you they’re the party of women if they can’t even define what a woman is. So we are going to continue to be strong advocates for young women and girls, whether that’s in professional spaces, in bathrooms or in sports," said Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, referencing a recently passed bill keeping biological male student athletes out of girls' sports teams and locker rooms.

Hinson said she is "a working mom fighting for other working moms."

"Women are oftentimes the most important decision makers in a household, for example. So, when I'm thinking about economic indicators, how are we going to get more women in the workforce? How can we empower more women and families? How can we support more women in sports?" Hinson posed.

Historically, Malliotakis pointed out, it was Republicans who led passage of the 19th Amendment that secured women the right to vote. She also pointed out that it was under President Donald Trump that a museum dedicated to women's history was authorized.

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"President Trump authorized in 2020 the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum. And Joe Biden did nothing with it for four years," Malliotakis said. " "I’ve been pushing a land transfer for the Smithsonian women’s museum to be built, and I think it makes total sense that we would be the party that would do this, considering our history."

As a voting bloc, women have favored Democrats and the left in recent history.

Democrats have also blamed Republicans for the conservative-leaning Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, a move that did appear to translate to electoral success in the 2022 midterms.

Progressives were also historically the biggest supporters of the Equal Rights Amendment, legislation that was pushed primarily during the second-wave feminist movement.

However, Republican women like Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., are now arguing that bills like hers, which would deport illegal immigrants who commit sex crimes against women and other Americans, are what it takes to protect women.

"MAGA is the new feminist," Mace wrote on X this month.

Additionally, Rep. Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., one of the few Republican women in the 119th Congress' freshmen class, pointed out that her own story was a testament to GOP meritocracy.

"I was the largest vote-getter in my whole state out of anybody, as a woman, as the first congresswoman in our state. So I think more than anything else, people want folks who are primed for the job, who are competent and ready," Fedorchak said.

"The cost of everything, making ends meet, helping women manage their multiple roles, getting government out of their lives, helping reinforce the role of parents…these are things that are women’s issues."

More than 200,000 children have been abducted by Russia since the start of its invasion of Ukraine, Chairman Emeritus of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said, citing U.S. estimates.

"If a foreign adversary took 260,000 of our kids, and they were in indoctrination camps, I mean, how would we feel about that?" McCaul asked Fox News Digital.

The Texas Republican was recently term-limited in his time as chairman of the foreign affairs panel, but he is continuing to work on the world stage, in part by raising awareness about Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine. Among the most egregious is the relocation of thousands of Ukrainian children into Russia, the vast majority of whom have not been returned.

Some parents would be coerced into giving up their children because Russian forces were threatening to bomb their city, McCaul said, while other times "they just invade and capture the children."

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The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants in February 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia’s commissioner for children’s rights, Maria Lvova-Belova, "for the war crime of unlawful deportation of [children] and that of unlawful transfer of [children] from occupied areas of Ukraine."

Lvova-Belova was sanctioned last year by the U.S. over her part in the scheme, which has been widely condemned by western governments.

However, the Kremlin has denied war crime allegations and maintained it is doing humanitarian work facilitating homes for Ukrainian children, NPR reported.

Existing accounts from returned children and elsewhere paint a picture of forced indoctrination within Russia’s borders, however. Some of those children are given military training, according to the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, likely in preparation to fight on Russia’s front lines.

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Estimates on how many children have been taken to Russia vary between 20,000 to upwards of 250,000.

Part of McCaul’s work raising awareness about Russia’s treatment of Ukrainian children will include a screening of a documentary titled, "Children in the Fire: Ukraine’s War Through the Children’s Eyes" by filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky, at the Munich Security Conference next month.

He has also worked with the nonprofit Save Ukraine, which is working to return children.

"In the documentary, the child's brought into this prison where it looks like adults are being— basically they're using electrodes to shock them, you know, under their fingernails and their genitals, and it's just very, very barbaric," McCaul said.

He also held a hearing last year on the issue while leading the foreign affairs committee.

McCaul said Russia’s abduction of children is among the most vile of its alleged violations of the Geneva Conventions. He compared it to infamous Nazi physician Josef Mengele’s experiments on Jewish children and adults.

"It's just evil. I mean, any civilization that would capture— I mean, it's one thing if you're on the battlefield killing the enemy, from their point of view," McCaul said. "But to capture the children to re-indoctrinate them is sort of reminiscent of, you know, Mengele’s experiments on kids…And I don't think we've seen anything like this in recent society."

The House passed a resolution last year condemning Russia’s abduction of Ukrainian children in a bipartisan 390 to 9 vote.

"It's just horrific. I can't imagine, as a father, my children being, you know, taken away by the Russian Federation and then not knowing where they are or what's happening to them," McCaul said. "But this is all part of Putin's game, is to try to indoctrinate the children in Ukraine to go against their own country and belief system."

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and a slew of other House Republicans are pushing a proposal that would compel states to allow Americans to carry guns in public areas.

The measure, dubbed the "National Constitutional Carry Act," would prohibit states and localities from limiting U.S. citizens from carrying firearms in public if they are eligible to have the weapons under state and federal law. 

"By prohibiting state or local restrictions on the right to bear arms, H.R. 645 upholds the original purpose of the Second Amendment—to ensure the security of a free state—while safeguarding individual liberties against government infringement," Massie noted, according to a press release.

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Specifically, the text of the measure stipulates that "No State or political subdivision of a State may impose a criminal or civil penalty on, or otherwise indirectly limit the carrying of firearms (including by imposing a financial or other barrier to entry) in public by residents or nonresidents of that State who are citizens of the United States and otherwise eligible to possess firearms under State and Federal law."

"Any statute, ordinance, regulation, custom, or usage of a State or a political subdivision of a State that criminalizes, penalizes, or otherwise indirectly dissuades the carrying of firearms (including by imposing a financial or other barrier to entry) in public by any resident or nonresident who is a United States citizen and otherwise eligible to possess firearms under State and Federal law, shall have no force or effect," the measure reads.

The measure would not apply to locations "where screening for firearms is conducted under state law," and it would not block the owners of privately-owned facilities from banning guns on their premises. 

Massie and others had previously pushed such a proposal last year as well.

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In 2021, Massie shared a family Christmas photo in which each person was holding a gun.

"Merry Christmas!" the staunch gun rights advocate wrote when sharing the photo, adding, "ps. Santa, please bring ammo."

In a 2022 post, he criticized the term "Gun Violence," asserting that it "is part of the language leftists use to shift blame away from evil perpetrators of violence" and that it "suggests that guns are to blame instead of people, which sets the table for their anti-second amendment agenda."

"There’s a reason you never see a Communist, a Marxist, or even a Socialist politician support the right of common people to keep and bear arms: Those forms of government require more submission to the state than armed citizens would tolerate," Massie also tweeted in 2022.

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The congressman's press release lists dozens of House Republicans as original cosponsors, including: Reps. Andy Biggs of Arizona, Lauren Boebert of Colorado, Josh Brecheen of Oklahoma, Tim Burchett of Tennessee, Eric Burlison of Missouri, Ben Cline of Virginia, Michael Cloud of Texas, Mike Collins of Georgia, Eli Crane of Arizona, Brandon Gill of Texas, Paul Gosar of Arizona, Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Andy Harris of Maryland, Clay Higgins of Louisiana, Nick Langworthy of New York, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Mary Miller of Illinois, Barry Moore of Alabama, Nathaniel Moran of Texas, Andrew Ogles of Tennessee, John Rose of Tennessee, Chip Roy of Texas, Keith Self of Texas, Victoria Spartz of Indiana, Claudia Tenney of New York, Tom Tiffany of Wisconsin, Randy Weber of Texas and Tony Wied of Wisconsin.

There are less than two months until the next government funding deadline on March 14, and House lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned about the speed of their progress on spending talks.

"I think it’s a complete failure for us to not have a topline number," said Rep. Cory Mills, R-Fla. 

Congressional Republicans have been busy negotiating a massive conservative policy and budget overhaul via a process called "reconciliation," which allows the party holding both the House and Senate to enact sweeping changes by lowering the Senate's threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51.

But all the while, Republicans who spoke with Fox News Digital are worried about falling behind on the federal appropriations process for fiscal year (FY) 2025, with no topline funding numbers to work from yet and just 19 days left in session until the deadline.

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Congress has extended the FY 2025 deadline twice since the period began Oct. 1 – most recently passing a short-term funding extension of FY 2024 funding levels, known as a continuing resolution (CR), in late December.

"Appropriation bills have to get done. If we end up with another CR, that would be catastrophic. That would mean, in essence, a reduction on defense [funding]," said Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Fla., a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. "But for us to start doing it, we need a topline number. But I’m optimistic we’ll get there."

If nothing is done by March 14, Congress could be forced to contend with a partial government shutdown in the middle of their reconciliation talks – and within the first 100 days of President Donald Trump's second term.

Other members of the committee suggested they were similarly in the dark about a topline number, but were cautiously hopeful.

"We are less than eight weeks away from the CR expiring. We need to be able to get those toplines as soon as possible and get to work," said Rep. Stephanie Bice, R-Okla. "I have full faith and confidence that Tom Cole will be able to make that happen in the next week or two."

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., said House Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole, R-Okla., has been "in consultation" with his counterparts on a towline number.

Asked about the possibility of another CR, he said, "We have several things going on at once – the reconciliation package, raising the debt ceiling, and the appropriations process. So let’s just hope for the best and deal with the worst if we have to."

Republican leaders have previously been forced to seek Democratic support to pass CRs, which normally hit a wall of opposition among a cross-section of the GOP.

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Conservative hardliners told Fox News Digital they're bracing for another CR or, worse in their eyes, a massive package combining Congress' 12 regular appropriation bills into one massive "omnibus."

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., said he and other conservatives were working on a bill to keep border security operations funded in the event of a government shutdown.

"We’re running out of time," he said, adding that Republicans should "probably stay in next week" instead of flying to their annual issues conference in Miami.

Rep. Keith Self, R-Fla., pointed out that House lawmakers have just over two weeks' worth of days in session to come up with a plan.

"I'm very concerned. I'm also concerned that if we screw up the CR on March the 14th, does it poison the reconciliation negotiations?" Self posed.

But not all conservatives are concerned. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris, R-Md., said he would be in favor of a full-year CR if "we write it properly."

"You tell me what the topline is, and I'll tell you whether I'm concerned," he said.

Fox News Digital reached out to congressional Republican leaders and the House Appropriations Committee for comment.

One of President Donald Trump's top congressional allies introduced a resolution on Thursday evening to allow the commander-in-chief a third term.

Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., is pushing a new amendment to the Constitution that would give a president three terms in office, but no more than two consecutive four-year stints.

The amendment would say, "No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than three times, nor be elected to any additional term after being elected to two consecutive terms, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice."

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The 22nd Amendment, ratified in 1951, prevents a person from serving as president for more than two terms. 

It was passed by Congress in 1947 in response to Franklin Delano Roosevelt winning four terms in the White House. Roosevelt died the year after he was elected to his fourth term in the 1944 presidential election.

But in a statement released to media on Thursday, Ogles said Trump "has proven himself to be the only figure in modern history capable of reversing our nation’s decay and restoring America to greatness, and he must be given the time necessary to accomplish that goal."

"To that end, I am proposing an amendment to the Constitution to revise the limitations imposed by the 22nd Amendment on presidential terms," Ogles said. "This amendment would allow President Trump to serve three terms, ensuring that we can sustain the bold leadership our nation so desperately needs."

Trump made comments about serving a third term to House Republicans during a closed-door speech late last year, but multiple sources who attended the event told Fox News Digital that the then-president-elect was joking.

Earlier this month, Ogles unveiled a bill to authorize Trump to enter into talks to purchase Greenland after he expressed interest in doing so.

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The "Make Greenland Great Again Act" would have authorized Trump to enter negotiations with Denmark over purchasing Greenland, a territory located in North America but with longstanding cultural and geopolitical ties to Europe.

"Joe Biden took a blowtorch to our reputation these past four years, and before even taking office, President Trump is telling the world that America First is back. American economic and security interests will no longer take a backseat, and House Republicans are ready to help President Trump deliver for the American people," Ogles told Fox News Digital at the time.

Republican lawmakers are jubilant after President Trump was sworn in for a second term on Monday, followed by a speech promising massive policy changes in the U.S.

"President Trump’s speech was a breath of fresh aid for Americans – he will bring down costs, close the southern border, deport illegal immigrants, bring back free speech, and unleash American energy dominance," House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital. "The Golden Age of America begins today."

House GOP leaders, meanwhile, reaffirmed their promise to execute Trump’s policies as quickly as possible, with the commander in chief angling for an active first 100 days in office beginning with a sweeping set of executive orders.

"This is America’s moment of redemption, and under President Trump’s leadership, our nation will usher in a new Golden Age," said House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. "House Republicans are fully committed to making his America First vision a reality and are ready to hit the ground running on day one."

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House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., meanwhile, hailed Trump’s address as "a powerful speech outlining his vision for an America that’s safe, strong, free, and full of opportunity."

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., chair of the House GOP Policy Committee, compared Trump’s inauguration to former President Ronald Reagan’s in 1985 – which was also held indoors. 

"Like Reagan, who ushered in a renaissance of American greatness, President Trump’s inauguration marks the beginning of a new golden age in America. His vision and leadership will secure a brighter future for our nation. Today, we witness the dawn of a new era," Hern said.

Like Trump, Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, called for legislative action to begin without delay. He said, "Today is a day for celebration, but our work begins immediately. There is no room for excuses. Congress must work with the president to deliver fully, not partially. I stand ready and resolved."

Meanwhile, Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, urged Congress to now work with Trump "to pass the Farm Bill, extend the Trump Tax Cuts, lock down our border, end the electric vehicle mandates, support our small businesses, and lower costs for our families and farmers."

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Several of those goals were also mentioned by Trump himself during his inaugural speech in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda.

"I will direct all members of my Cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation, and rapidly bring down costs and prices. The inflation crisis was caused by massive overspending and escalating energy prices. And that is why today I will also declare a national energy emergency. We will drill, baby, drill," Trump said.

"With my actions today, we will end the Green New Deal, and we will revoke the electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto industry and keeping my sacred pledge to our great American autoworkers."

He also repeated promises to crack down on crime at the border as well as target foreign nations with high tariffs as a means to bring down the deficit.

Trump later gave roughly half an hour’s worth of further remarks in the Capitol’s Emancipation Hall. 

The second speech, more freewheeling than his first, saw Trump criticize his predecessor, former President Biden, for issuing pardons to members of the former House Select Committee on Jan. 6 and others, like retired Gen. Mark Milley.

"We're going to turn our country around, and we're going to turn it around fast. And I think it was a better speech than the one I made upstairs," Trump joked in those remarks.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is fighting to uphold a Texas law he says is keeping the pornography industry from targeting children with harmful content.

Passed in 2023 and signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott, the law requires porn sites to verify users’ ages through official documentation such as a driver’s license or government-issued I.D. Under the law, failure to implement this age verification results in fines.

Meanwhile, a collection of porn sites calling itself the Free Speech Coalition argues that the Texas law curbs their First Amendment rights and places an undue burden on Texas adults from accessing their content.   

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Pornhub, the country’s most popular adult content website, went so far as to disable access to their website for all users in Texas after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold the law.

The two sides finally came face to face this Wednesday to make their case before the Supreme Court.

For its part, the nation’s highest court appeared united in agreeing with Paxton’s argument that states have a vested interest in limiting children’s access to pornographic content. Some justices, however, seemed to still have concerns about whether the Texas law’s prohibitions were too broad and could impact other areas of free speech expression.

The question before the court now is whether the Texas law should be subject to "rational basis" or "strict scrutiny" review, the latter of which would require Texas to meet the narrowest standards to uphold the age verification requirement.

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Whichever way the court rules will likely impact not only the Texas law but also the over a dozen other porn site age verification laws in states across the country.

In an interview with Fox News Digital after the hearing, Paxton said he feels confident that the Supreme Court will rule in Texas’ favor.

"Hearing the questions and seeing the comments by the justices I feel very optimistic, I think we’re going to win this," he said. "I really feel good about it. I think most of the justices are going to come down on the right side."

"Even the other side making their arguments admitted that we have an interest in protecting minors," he went on. "They just said that the way we were doing that was some type of overburden on adults, and so they offered up other suggestions, those suggestions don’t actually work and that’s probably why they offered them up, they don’t want age verification because it actually works, and it affects their bottom line." 

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In response to criticisms about the law potentially violating free speech, Paxton said: "Look I’m a huge free speech advocate. I see very few limitations on free speech. However, we have recognized that we need to protect children in all kinds of different ways. We don’t let them sign contracts, we don’t let them get married until they’re 18, we don’t let them be served alcohol, we don’t let them get tobacco, we have protected children, it’s been [throughout] our entire history."

"If you look anywhere in the developed world or anywhere [else], children are protected," he added. "It’s my job to enforce Texas law. In this case I feel very comfortable protecting our children from having this put in front of them."

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is urging the Senate to act fast on confirming President-elect Trump's Cabinet nominees amid dramatic hearings and some recent delays in the process.

"As elected officials, Congress is tasked with reflecting the will of the American people. The results of last November make clear that the country wants to see a departure from the past four years of failed Biden-Harris leadership," the letter said.

"We all have a role to play, and for this reason I respectfully urge my Senate colleagues to proceed swiftly with the confirmation of President Trump's executive branch nominees."

The letter is led by Rep. Pat Fallon, R-Texas, and signed by at least 16 House Republican lawmakers, though more may join. 

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It comes after former Fox News Channel host Pete Hegseth clashed with Democrat senators during a hearing on his nomination to be defense secretary on Tuesday. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., and others grilled Hegseth on allegations of infidelity and sexual misconduct, which he emphatically denied.

The following day, multiple Senate confirmation hearings were interrupted by protesters. 

Hearings for South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem to be Homeland Security secretary, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum to be Interior secretary and former Rep. Doug Collins to be Veterans Affairs secretary were all delayed, reportedly for various procedural reasons.

"President Trump has selected these nominees based on their shared, strong, and demonstrated commitment to restoring American values and pursuing the best interests of the nation," Fallon's letter read. "When it comes to President Trump's slate of nominees, the sum of the whole is even greater than its parts – we need a united executive branch if we are to right the ship."

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"Thank you for the strong support that many of you have already espoused for President Trump's nominees. We cannot falter nor rebuke the mandate of the American people as we turn the page on the past four years of failed executive leadership."

The letter closed by urging Senate Republicans to give Trump's nominees their "full and unwavering support."

As Fallon's letter noted, the majority of Senate Republicans are expected to fall in line behind Trump's choices. But with just a 53-seat majority, they can afford little dissent to still get the nominees over the line.

First-term Sen. John Curtis, R-Utah, said Wednesday that he intends to support Hegseth's confirmation after hearing his testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee. But at a Politico event on Tuesday, he raised doubts about Trump's nominee to be director of national intelligence, former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.

Hegseth, meanwhile, managed to clear a key hurdle on Tuesday when Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, said on local Iowa radio station WHO News Radio 1040 that she would support his nomination after previously signaling she had some concerns.

FIRST ON FOX: The conservative House Freedom Caucus has released a proposal for Republicans' planned conservative policy overhaul that would raise the debt limit by two years or roughly $4 trillion.

Congressional Republicans are preparing for a massive conservative policy overhaul through the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation allows the party controlling Congress and the White House to pass broad policy changes — provided they deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters.

However, there has been some disagreement over whether to pass all of their goals – touching on border security, defense, spending cuts, tax cuts, and energy – in one single bill to not risk any items falling behind, or split the priorities into two separate pieces of legislation to ensure early victory on at least some measures.

President-elect Donald Trump has said he favors the one-bill approach, but would be open to two. He also tasked Republicans with raising or suspending the debt limit, with the U.S. Treasury projected to run out of funds to pay its debts by mid-June.

Freedom Caucus members are among the Republicans calling for two separate bills. The plan being unveiled on Thursday, first reported by Fox News Digital, calls for border security, defense, and steep spending cuts.

It would raise the debt limit "with commitment from congressional leadership on dollar-for-dollar savings over 10 years across both reconciliation bills and appropriations bills."

Those cuts would then be used to offset tax breaks being extended in the second bill, Fox News Digital was told.

But the plan for the first bill calls for roughly $100 billion for border security across four years, and up to $200 billion for defense in the same time frame.

It also calls for repealing key Biden administration policies to cut spending, including President Biden's electric vehicle tax credits, added funding for the IRS, and his student loan relief programs, among other items.

The conservative lawmakers presented the plan to Trump at Mar-a-Lago last Friday, but it is unclear how he responded.

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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., previously backed a two-bill approach in public comments. 

Opponents of that plan, which include Republicans on the House Ways & Means Committee, have warned that leaving Trump's tax cuts for a second bill would all but guarantee that provisions he passed during his previous term would expire by the end of the year, raising taxes for millions of Americans.

Committee Chairman Jason Smith, R-Mo., previously pointed out to FOX Business host Maria Bartiromo that two reconciliation bills have not been passed in one term since the 1990s.

However, GOP negotiators have not decided whether to include action on the debt limit in their reconciliation bill, with both measures known to require difficult political maneuvering. 

The Freedom Caucus' expected plan is a way for fiscal hawks who have traditionally scorned action on the debt limit to agree to do so.

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That same group is also concerned that putting all the agenda items into a single bill will not result in sufficient cuts to offset the added spending. 

With two House Republicans departing for the Trump administration on Jan. 20, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will have to navigate a razor-thin majority until special elections are expected in April.

Until then, just one Republican "no" vote will be enough to derail any piece of legislation that does not get Democratic support.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Trump transition team and the House Freedom Caucus for comment.

The Congressional DOGE Caucus’ plans for cutting government waste are shifting into focus after the group’s second-ever closed-door meeting on Wednesday.

Caucus leaders are splitting lawmakers into eight working groups focused on different sectors for waste-cutting. Those will focus on retirement, social and family safety nets, emergency supplemental funding, energy permitting, homeland security, defense and veterans, the workforce, and government operations, according to a document viewed by Fox News Digital.

Co-chairs Aaron Bean, R-Fla., and Pete Sessions, R-Texas, challenged lawmakers in the room to introduce at least one bill related to government efficiency in the 119th Congress.

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Both told Fox News Digital that it was just one of the coordinated efforts the caucus is planning as it seeks to be the legislative support for the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) being co-led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy.

"We’re going to aim for a day where we will drop pieces of legislation, a day where we will go on the floor and speak to the American people," Sessions told Fox News Digital.

Bean expounded on the idea, labeling it "DOGE Days."

"We're going to have a day where we hopefully can draw up 20, 30 bills and all the DOGE members come forward, boom, we're on them," Bean said. "We're going to have great team work and great synergy and momentum."

They asked attendees to fill out a survey, a copy of which was obtained by Fox News Digital, designating which working groups they would like to be a part of. 

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During the closed-door meeting, lawmakers took turns to discuss their own ideas for cutting government waste as well.

Rep. Jay Obernolte, R-Calif., called for a constitutional amendment requiring Congress to balance the federal budget.

And Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., suggested cutting off child tax credit eligibility for illegal immigrants.

"Currently, we’re not nearly careful enough… where illegal aliens are getting a child tax credit, childcare tax credit. That's ridiculous. You know, so those are my point was those are the easy things to do, the low-hanging fruit," Van Drew told Fox News Digital when asked about his meeting comments.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, who is leading the DOGE effort on the Senate side and also attended the Wednesday House meeting, urged lawmakers there to work with their counterparts in the upper chamber on bicameral bills.

Lawmakers have been enthusiastic about the goals laid out by Musk and Ramaswamy’s new panel. Commissioned by President-elect Trump, the group is an advisory panel aimed at recommending where the executive branch can cut government waste.

The DOGE Caucus is a bid to make Trump’s cost-cutting initiatives permanent through legislation.

The group opened and email tip line which Bean and Sessions said has already received over 15,000 emails.

Bean said he was surprised but pleased at the enthusiasm.

Sessions added, "I've gotten probably 200 letters here that were really typed out, and some were written, that said, ‘Thank you for doing this. I'd like you to hear from me.’ And this is an acknowledgement back to the American people who have skin in the game also."

President Biden’s proclamation removing Cuba’s designation as a state sponsor of terror caused an uproar in Florida, notably among the president's fellow Democrats.

The rare political unity in the Sunshine State was pronounced after Biden certified on Tuesday that Havana's Miguel Diaz-Canel regime has "not provided any support for international terrorism" during the preceding six-month period.

Biden’s declaration also claimed Havana provided Washington with assurances it will not support terrorism in the future, and that the U.S. maintains its "core objective" of "more freedom and democracy" for the Cuban people.

However, Democratic Floridians were up in arms at the development.

Rep. Jared Moskowitz, in heavily-blue Broward County, told Axios on Tuesday that the outgoing president is doing lasting political damage.

"This is Joe Biden literally sinking the Democratic Party in the state of Florida," he said. "Big time."

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Once the most notable "swing state" — rife with ballot "hanging chads" and the "Brooks Brothers Riot" of the 2000 election — Florida has seen a major rightward lurch in recent years.

State Gov. Ron DeSantis orchestrated an electoral blowout of Republican-turned-Democrat Charlie Crist in 2022, and President-elect Trump shocked the state by flipping Miami-Dade County red in 2024.

Trump lost Miami-Dade by 30 points in 2020, but won by 11 points in November. The county has a sizable Latino and specifically Cuban-American population — highlighted by its famed "Little Havana" neighborhood along U.S. Highway 41.

"Just as we try to patch the hole in the boat, Biden punches another hole in it," Moskowitz told the outlet. 

"Florida is a red state, and Biden just waved the white flag of surrender."

Meanwhile, Florida Democratic Party chair Nikki Fried said she is "disappointed" at the decision.

"We condemn in the strongest terms Cuba's removal from this list, as well as any possible lifting of economic sanctions, and call on the Biden Administration to reverse course immediately."

Fried said in a statement that generations of Floridian Cuban-Americans have shared stories of the Castro regime’s oppression, and that Diaz-Canel is Raul Castro’s "hand-picked successor" as the first non-Castro to lead Cuba since Fulgencio Batista was overthrown by the Castro brothers in 1959.

Following the terror-sponsored designation change, Havana officials reportedly pledged to release more than 500 political prisoners — for which the Catholic Church had been negotiating for some time.

As the news fell just ahead of Cuban-American Sen. Marco Rubio’s confirmation hearing to be Trump’s secretary of state, a spokesperson for Biden told Axios the timing is strictly coincidental.

Rubio is one of several lawmakers — and residents — of South Florida whose parents or grandparents fled the Communist nation.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla. — the only Cuban-born member of Congress — called Biden a "pathetic coward" for his decision to drop Cuba’s terror-sponsor designation.

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Gimenez added that Rubio will "pulverize the [Castro/Diaz-Canel] regime once and for all."

He told Fox News Digital that Biden’s decision is "morally bankrupt" and geopolitically "treacherous," for a malign regime that sits less than 90 miles from the edge of his own congressional district’s Monroe County boundary.

Gimenez went on to warn that the decision ignores Cuba’s coziness with the Chinese Communist Party, and intelligence sharing with Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro and Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega.  

"The [Cuban] dictatorship must be confronted and isolated — never appeased."

He praised Florida leaders from Biden’s side of the aisle for being willing to speak out at such an important time.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican whose Miami-Dade district abuts Gimenez', said he is "disgusted but not surprised" by what he called Biden's "final acts of betrayal to the security interests of the United States."

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As Moskowitz and other Democrats warn of the damage being done to the Democratic Party by moves such as the removal of Cuba’s terror-sponsor designation, several Florida Democrats have fled the party and praised Trump in recent weeks.

Maureen Porras, the vice-mayor of Doral, Florida — the tony Miami suburb where Trump owns a golf club and resort — told The Floridian her now-former party "prioritized minority opinions" and "neglected to… address the real issues affecting our community." 

Meanwhile, State Reps. Susan Valdes of Tampa and Hillary Cassel of Hallandale Beach, Florida, recently changed their affiliation from Democratic to Republican.

President-elect Trump's top aide on immigration and the border spoke with House Republicans during a roughly hour-long meeting Wednesday.

Lawmakers who left the room hailed Stephen Miller, who was tapped to be U.S. Homeland Security adviser in the new Trump administration, as a brilliant policy mind.

Two sources present for the discussions told Fox News Digital Miller talked about the need to scale up the Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) workforce, which is noteworthy given Trump's promise to execute mass deportations when he returns to office.

Miller also discussed ways to cut federal funds going toward sanctuary cities and states, a cash flow that Republicans had previously promised to target if they were to control the levers of power in Washington.

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The strategy meeting comes as congressional Republicans are preparing for a massive conservative policy overhaul through the budget reconciliation process. By lowering the threshold for passage in the Senate from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation allows the party controlling Congress and the White House to pass broad policy changes — provided they deal with budgetary and other fiscal matters.

The sources told Fox News Digital Miller's portion of the meeting partly focused on what border and immigration policies could go into a reconciliation package and what kind of funding Congress would need to appropriate. 

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The sources said Miller told Republicans the incoming Trump administration understood the president-elect's border and immigration goals were "probably not going to get a lot" of Democratic votes and that "those more controversial things would need to be in reconciliation." More bipartisan initiatives could be passed during the regular process, the sources added. 

A House GOP lawmaker told Fox News Digital of an understanding that Congress would follow Trump's lead.

"I think we're going to see a slew of executive orders early, and that is going to be helpful to separate from what we have to do legislatively," the lawmaker said.

One source in the room said Miller emphasized the importance of messaging, adding that "nothing matters if we don't get our message out to the American people."

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital Miller discussed "low-hanging fruit" that Trump could tackle by executive order, mentioning "deportation" as a possibility.

"Tax stuff, that's going to take some time," Norman said.

Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., declined to go into specifics about the meeting but told Fox News Digital the discussion focused on "illegal immigration and how that's going to be curbed … to bring commonsense solutions to the program."

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"I had a couple of questions about the cost to American taxpayers if we don't repatriate some 12 million illegal aliens who the Biden administration has let into our country," Alford said.

Miller declined to answer reporters' questions when he left the room.

He was invited to address the Republican Study Committee led by Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, the House GOP's largest caucus, which acts as a conservative think tank of sorts for the rest of the House Republican Conference. 

Pfluger told Fox News Digital in a statement after the meeting, "The Republican Study Committee is in lockstep with the incoming Trump administration. We are committed to working around the clock to deliver on the promises we made to the American people, especially when it comes to securing our border and enforcing immigration policies."

"We will continue to work with Stephen Miller and his team to deliver the legislative victories they need from the House."

House GOP leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., were not in attendance, nor were they expected.

Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., the group's previous chairman, said there was "nothing new" said during the meeting, adding it was an opportunity for Trump's aides to address the House GOP.

Trump and his aides have already paid heavy attention to congressional Republicans. 

Several of his incoming White House aides are in regular contact with top GOP lawmakers. Trump personally invited several groups of House Republicans to Mar-a-Lago last weekend.

EXCLUSIVE: A GOP lawmaker is seeking to significantly raise taxes on endowment profits being banked by private universities to align their levy with the current corporate tax rate.

Many private universities have invested funds for operational use that acquire interest each year, known as an endowment. In 2017, the Trump-era Tax Cuts and Jobs Act enacted a 1.4% tax on the interest private universities were receiving from these endowments. 

However, a new Republican bill would raise that tax to hold elite educational institutions to the same tax standard as corporations, which currently see a 21% corporate tax.

Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, is expected to introduce legislation on Wednesday, the Endowment Tax Fairness Act, to raise the excise tax on annual private university endowment investment returns by nearly 20 percentage points, from 1.4% to 21%.

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The GOP-backed bill would then require the revenue to be deposited into the General Fund of the Treasury, a fund managing the government's budget, to be used to reduce the national deficit. 

Nehls tells Fox News Digital he introduced the bill because elite universities should not have "far lower" taxes than working Americans.

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"Elite private universities have accumulated and sit on massive university endowments and pay a tax less than 2% on the investment earnings of their endowments, which is far lower than what most hardworking Americans pay in taxes. Meanwhile, these universities have significantly increased tuition for America’s youth, which has overwhelmingly surpassed the average annual inflation rate," he said.

The tax would apply to private colleges and universities that meet certain requirements, such as institutions that have 500 or more students.

Additionally, universities that would be taxed are those that aggregate fair market value of assets of at least $500,000 per student and that have more than 50% of its student body located in the United States, according to the bill. 

Endowments subject to the tax, such as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Columbia, reportedly hold a combined $270 billion of assets under management.

"This is unacceptable," Nehls told Fox. "My bill would put elite universities with massive endowments on notice by holding them to the same tax standard as corporations."

If passed, the tax would begin effective immediately after the date of the bill's enactment.