Regular readers of CHQ will recall that we became Speaker Mike Johnson sceptics after he regularly caved without a fight during the time Republicans held the House majority during Joe Biden’s disastrous presidency.
We even began to refer to him as Mike “The Disappointment” Johnson. And we were prepared to be disappointed again when President Trump seemingly bet all his chips on Speaker Johnson getting his “one big beautiful bill” passed by the House and sent to the Senate.
But in managing passage of the Budget Reconciliation package Speaker Johnson proved himself to be an adept leader of his fractious House Republican Conference, carefully guiding the process through to a conclusion that has been deemed a success by President Trump, our friends in the House Freedom Caucus and even the House’s squishier Republicans.
As our friend Stephen Moore explained in his Committee to Unleash Prosperity Hotline:
We won - and America won - by ONE vote 217-215.
This is a huge bullish development and raises the odds enormously that we will get the tax cut through Congress after all.
Congratulations to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Majority Leader Steve Scalise, President Trump (whose last-minute phone calls to wavering members pushed it over the goal line) and Budget Committee Chairman Jody Arrington (who wrote the budget resolution) for a Herculean effort.
Big win too for Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who masterfully shepherded the bill through the House.
So, there was plenty of credit to be spread around to all, but the day-to-day work, which having worked for a Member of the Budget Committee we know to be thankless and frustrating, was done by the Speaker and Chairman Arrington.
As House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) explained, "House passage of this budget is the next step toward extending the successful Trump tax cuts in one, big beautiful reconciliation bill. It also opens the door for new resources to secure America’s borders and strengthen national security as well as end the bureaucratic blockade standing in the way of American energy dominance."
Among the important pro-growth tax provisions of the bill are:
Extending the Trump Tax Cuts
Permanent extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts will fuel significant economic growth and prosperity.
$150 billion in economic growth from permanent extension of the 20 percent small business deduction.
$284 billion of new economic growth from American manufacturers.
Key Policies from the Trump Tax Cuts Set to Expire if Congress Fails to Act:
6 million jobs will be lost if the tax cuts are not extended.
The average taxpayer would see a 22 percent tax hike if the Trump tax cuts expire.
A family of four making $80,610, the median income in the United States, would see a $1,695 tax increase if the Trump tax cuts expire.
This is worth about 9 weeks of groceries to a typical family of four across the country.
40 million families would see their household’s Child Tax Credit cut in half.
91 percent of all taxpayers would see their guaranteed deduction slashed in half.
7 million taxpayers would be impacted by the return of the Alternative Minimum Tax.
2 million family-owned farms would have their Death Tax Exemption slashed in half next year.
And, as good as all of those economic growth provisions are, there’s one other benefit no one seems to be talking about: Speaker Johnson managed a huge political victory by setting up the Democrats to all vote in favor of a huge tax increase – on the final passage vote not one single Democrat voted to stop a $4 trillion tax increase on virtually every American family and business - big and small - starting on January 1, 2026.
There’s still a great deal of work to be done to get the bill to President Trump’s desk, so rather than suggest CHQ readers and friends call Speaker Johnson to thank him, we suggest you call Senators to tell them to get out of the way and pass the bill he so deftly managed in the House.
The Capitol Switchboard is (202-224-3121), call your Senators TODAY to demand that they vote YES on the House bill to implement President Trump’s “one big beautiful bill” strategy on border security, tax cuts, energy security and regulatory relief.
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