Tensions are reportedly rising among Republicans in the House and Senate as lawmakers debate the best path to helping President Donald Trump enact his ambitious agenda in the months to come.

As Fox News reports, disagreements have arisen not just about whether there should be one large or two smaller bills designed to implement Trump's priorities, but also as to whether the amount of spending cuts will approach the level promised to GOP hardliners late last year to stave off a government shutdown.

Hurdles in the House

As Republicans continue to work through the process of internal debate about how best to facilitate the Trump agenda, spending hawks within the party are holding out for no less than $2.5 trillion in spending cuts in what leaders in the lower chamber hope will be one, large bill.

However, with a clear path forward proving elusive, despite a closed-door Wednesday meeting, frustrations are rising to the surface inside the president's party, and pressure for a final plan continues to mount.

One lawmaker told Fox News Digital that the meeting was characterized by “heated exchanges” stemming from the insistence from some in the conservative faction for spending cuts much higher than some believe are feasible.

The source stated, “I think there's a lot of frustration right now. They've been trying to be inclusive, but not every open forum they've offered is giving members the ability to say, 'I feel like people are listening to me,' because I don't know that's the case right now.”

Adding to the tension is the sentiment that if the House fails to act swiftly enough, the Senate could push ahead with a plan of its own, which critics on the right believe will result in lower levels of spending cuts.

Senate moves forward

The aforementioned fears among some in the House appear to have been borne out when on Wednesday, Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-SC) declared that the upper chamber would indeed push forward with a two-bill path of its own, as NBC News reported.

The first step, according to Graham, will be the introduction of a budget resolution that will form the first phase of the two-bill process the lawmaker envisions.

“To those who believe that Republicans should fulfill their promises on border security, mass deportation of criminal illegal aliens: I agree,” Graham said.

Graham continued, “That is why the Senate Budget Committee will be moving forward next week to give the Trump Administration's Border Czar, Tom Homan, the money ne needs to finish the wall, hire ICE agents to deport criminal illegal immigrants, and create more detention beds so that we do not release more dangerous people into the country. This will be the most transformational border security bill in the history of our country. It's time to act.”

According to Graham, the first Senate bill would include “around $150 billion for border security” and “somewhere in that range” for an expansion of military spending, bringing the total price tag to roughly $300, with Trump's tax agenda dealt with in a second bill.

Seeking common ground

Graham's announcement has ruffled feathers on the House side of the Capitol, with Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House Ways and Means chair Jason Smith (R-MO) still insisting on the wisdom of a one-bill approach that encompasses an extension of tax cuts implemented during Trump's first term that are otherwise poised to expire at year's end.

Expressing optimism about the potential for a suitable resolution, Johnson said, “I'm going to talk to Lindsey, he's a good friend. He has to understand the reality of the House. It's a very different chamber with very different dynamics. And the House needs to lead this if we're going to have success,” but precisely how or when consensus might be reached, only time will tell.