It’s been years since any legislating on Capitol Hill could be described as efficient.

But as Republicans watched the crisis in Paris unfold, coupled with President Barack Obama’s plan to allow thousands of Syrian refugees into the U.S., GOP leaders produced a coordinated response — at least for now. In doing so, Speaker Paul Ryan, Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have so far sidestepped the messy, charged fights that have come to split the Republican party and typify the modern-day Congress.

On Thursday, the House will vote on a bill that is aimed at stepping up background checks before Syrian and Iraqi refugees are let into America — an idea first envisioned by Rep. Richard Hudson (R-N.C.). It’s almost certain to pass the House with some level of Democratic support. And the tactics GOP leaders used to quickly unify their party behind a single idea — described by multiple lawmakers and aides involved in the discussions — could be instructive when envisioning how the next two years might work on Capitol Hill.

McCarthy was home in Bakersfield, California, when attackers opened fire in Paris Friday night, killing at least 132 people and terrorizing the French capital.

The No. 2 House Republican knew Congress would have to respond. So, beginning Friday night and stretching into Saturday morning, McCarthy convened a series of calls with committee chairmen like Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mike McCaul of Texas and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce of California. Hudson spoke to McCarthy about his bill, which McCarthy thought was a good start and deserved consideration. On Saturday, McCarthy called the new speaker and described what he was up to. 

And on Saturday night, McCarthy held another conference call to discuss the attack and Paris, and what U.S. policy should be going forward.

When the House got into session Monday evening, McCarthy and his aides chatted with House Democratic leadership. Hudson and McCaul began talking to ranking members like Homeland Security’s top Democrat, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi. Ryan, meanwhile, had a previously scheduled meeting with McConnell (R-Ky.), where the two discussed the strategy. The next day, McConnell sounded the same message as Ryan: Put the refugee resettlement program for Syrians on hold, for now. 

"The ability to vet people coming from that part of the world is really quite limited. And so that’s why I for one don’t feel particularly comforted by the assertion that our government can vet these refugees," McConnell said on Tuesday. “At the very least, it strikes me that we need a pause or a moratorium because the American people are quite concerned and upset about the possibility of terrorists coming into our country through some kind of refugee program."

The unfolding crisis following the Paris terror attacks amounts to the first major test of the new relationship between Ryan and McConnell, who are carefully navigating public trepidation about whether the government’s resettlement program poses a safety threat. 

McConnell added that he and Ryan were talking to the White House about any legislation Obama may be open to -- adding to the layers of coordination.

Of course, this could all blow up. The migrant problem could get worse. Obama and congressional Democrats might still reject the GOP’s plan, sidelining it for the time being. Or hardline Republicans might demand its consideration as part of the government funding bill — which could threaten a shut down.

Without a clear answer on how to more aggressively counter ISIL, much of the fallout from the Paris attacks has been focused on the Syrian refugees after news reports revealed that at least one of the terrorists may have arrived with migrants through Greece. More than two dozen governors have said their states are effectively closed to refugees because they pose an unacceptable security risk.

GOP presidential candidates have taken a sharp turn to the right in their rhetoric, after many of them just weeks ago expressed sympathy for the plight of the displaced Syrians. The Obama administration, watching the growing fear about the refugees, sought on Tuesday to cool the rhetoric, holding a call in which senior officials described such men and women are the most heavily scrutinized group of people allowed to enter the United States.

But GOP leadership in both chambers are under pressure from their rank-and-file to act on the refugee situation, and that pressure will likely not let up -- especially as Congress inches closer to a Dec. 11 deadline to pass a spending bill that's already been a ripe target for policy riders. 

“There’s a lot of interest in it," said South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the third-ranking Senate Republican. "A lot of our members want to see it addressed."

GOP leaders have left open a must-pass spending bill as an option to attach policy changes that would enact tougher oversight of the resettlement program. A growing number of GOP lawmakers are pushing leadership to be more aggressive; 55 House Republicans have signed a letter led by Rep. Brian Babin (R-Texas) demanding a rider in the Dec. 11 spending bill that would strip funding for the Obama administration’s plans to accept 10,000 more refugees from Syria. 

House Appropriations Chairman Hal Rogers (R-Ky.) said he did not "have a real preference" as to whether the language was inserted into the omnibus.

But House GOP leaders maneuvered as if they preferred to act before the government funding fight got into full swing.

McCarthy also convened a meeting with top committee chairmen on Tuesday. There, the senior House Republicans discussed only allowing Iraqi and Syrian refugees if Homeland Security certifies that the person is not a threat; the FBI must conduct background checks into the migrant, and certify he is not a danger to the U.S.; and the Homeland Security inspector general "shall conduct a risk based review of all certifications and provide an annual report detailing its findings to the appropriate committees," according to a source involved.

Senators, meanwhile, are seeking more information.

All senators will be briefed on Wednesday by top Obama administration officials on the Paris attacks, including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson; FBI director James Comey; Nick Rasmussen, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center; and other senior officials from the Pentagon and the State Department. House lawmakers held a similar briefing Tuesday. 

Senate Democrats were largely waiting for the briefing before weighing in with any policy changes they would support in response to the refugee resettlement program. The top Senate Democrat, Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, stressed to reporters that the vetting process for refugees already takes 18 to 24 months and that only roughly 2,000 refugees from Syria had been admitted to the United States in the last four years. 

“I don’t think at this stage, we should be pausing until we get the facts,” Reid told reporters. 

Still, other senior Senate Democrats left the option on the table. 

“We’re waiting for the briefing [on Wednesday], a pause may be necessary,” said New York Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the third-ranking Senate Democrat. “We’re going to look at it.”

Lawmakers are largely concerned about reports that at least one of the suspects in Friday’s attacks may have crossed through Greece along with refugees. A Syrian passport discovered near the body of one of the attackers in Paris showed that the holder of the passport passed through Leros, Greece, alongside refugees, although later reports indicated that the passport was fake.