Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Tuesday said he is “not wed” to including a debt limit increase in the reconciliation package full of President-elect Trump’s priorities, a sign that the top lawmaker may be considering stripping the thorny issue from the sprawling legislation. Johnson told reporters last week that it was his “intention” to deal with the debt limit in the reconciliation package, that way Republicans could handle the matter without input from Democrats. The budget reconciliation process allows the majority party to skirt around opposition from those in the minority party. Asked on Tuesday if it was still his intention to move the debt limit increase in the reconciliation package, Johnson said “that’s the current plan,” but signaled a potential off-ramp. “We're socializing that among members. I'm not really wed to that, it was the initial idea. So we'll see, we'll see how it develops,” Johnson said. Johnson’s apparent openness to removing the debt ceiling increase from the GOP priority measure comes as the borrowing limit emerges as one of the more contentious matters in the reconciliation package. A handful of Republicans in the House GOP conference have never voted for a debt limit increase, and in December, GOP lawmakers entered into an agreement to increase the borrowing limit by $1.5 trillion in exchange for $2.5 trillion in net cuts to spending, the latter of which is likely to be a difficult feat. Johnson on Tuesday said he is working to build consensus for those cuts. Other top Republicans, however, are signaling that removing the debt limit from the reconciliation package could make it easier for the legislation to move through the House. Asked on Monday if he wants to strip the debt limit increase from the reconciliation package, House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) responded: “I just want everyone to vote for making Trump’s tax cuts permanent. That is my focus.” Pressed on if removing the debt limit provision would make it easier for him to achieve that goal, the Missouri Republican said “you know the answer to that,” letting out a laugh. Johnson said it was his “intention” to address the debt limit in the reconciliation package after Trump made a last-minute demand for such a provision to be included in the December government funding legislation, an ask that did not come to fruition amid opposition from Democrats and Republicans. Congress will have to address the debt limit soon. In a letter to top lawmakers last month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the department expects the U.S. to reach the new debt limit between Jan. 14 and Jan. 23. Once that happens, the deparement will use extraordinary measures to allow the government to fulfill its obligations. “I respectfully urge Congress to act to protect the full faith and credit of the United States,” Yellen said.