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The 119th Congress was sworn in on Jan 3rd, but the bulk of its work will begin on the 20th, when President-elect Donald Trump will be sworn in for the second time.

10th District Congressman Scott Perry (R-York) spoke with FOX43 News on Thursday to preview the decisions Republican majorities in the House and Senate will have to make in the first few months of the Trump administration.

Perry was among the 38 conservative Republicans to vote against Johnson's first attempt at a so-called "clean" CR and one of 34 to vote against the second attempt, which passed with bipartisan support.

Perry says he voted against the CRs due to their extensions of the debt ceiling without offsetting cuts in spending, which he believes helps drive inflation.

"Every time we do that, you have more and more dollars chasing the same amount of goods, which means the price of those goods keeps going up," Perry said. "People complain that they can't afford the goods. Washington doesn't seem to get the message that people can't afford these goods, and I'm not going to be a part of bankrupting the country."

The votes came, despite vigorous backing of the CR by Trump, with threats of primaries against others who rejected the bill. These included Perry’s teammate in the House Freedom Caucus, Chip Roy. The influential, conservative caucus' opposition to the bill has raised questions on whether it is on the same page as the president-elect when it comes to spending.

Perry says he believes his caucus is in line with Trump on spending, and that there would have to be a reduction in spending and the deficit before he votes to raise the debt ceiling.

"What has to happen, in my opinion, is that we have to show that we're reducing that spending so that we don't continue to need to raise that debt ceiling," Perry said. "I think the president is on board because he also wants to drive down the inflationary pressures [and] the high cost of of living. He knows the only way to do that is to cut government spending and get that to the right size."

Republicans have called for up to $2.5 trillion in spending cuts but have differed on whether to add to the deficit or pay for new tax cuts put forward by Trump, as well as whether to tackle the border and taxes with a single bill or two. 

Perry says he supports a two-bill solution with immigration coming first.

"These things are legitimately complicated," Perry said. "You talk about taxes and extending the tax cuts that people have enjoyed over the last four to six years. That's going to be complicated, and anything that's complicated in Washington, D.C. takes a long time to navigate. I think the American people are demanding some of these things be done immediately, so I'm a proponent of the two-stage plan. I think we ought to deal with the border immediately."

Perry also believes that further tax cuts should be offset by spending cuts.

"If you're going to do that and pay for the government, you have to pay for whatever level the government is using, and the government is using too much," Perry said. "When we're going to cut taxes or maintain the tax cuts that we have, we're going to have to right-size that spending."

When it comes to spending cuts, Perry says everything is on the table.

"We need to look at every single component of the government," Perry said. "I would start out immediately with the EV mandate. We don't need the federal government telling us what kind of cars to buy and then subsidizing them. Everybody has to be willing to take a look at everything. You think about the Pentagon. I served in uniform for over three decades. The Pentagon hasn't passed an audit since it's since its inception, so there is waste and abuse there."

"The president has a mandate," Perry said. "We also needed to certify the electors, and we didn't want to be holding that up. We don't want to be holding the president's agenda up. We need to get to work. All that was in the mix in the conversation, and we got assurances from the speaker that were sufficient on these issues."

Perry also said that he is waiting to hear from Johnson on whether he will be re-appointed to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. His appointment to the committee in 2024 had reportedly caused consternation among several more moderate Republicans.

"I have no expectations," Perry said. "I sure hope he would. I've served honorably on it, and it's been a great privilege to serve on the committee."


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