U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has somehow managed to do what many believed was impossible by securing the passage of a budget that takes in the vast majority of the changes that were previously left in place by Senate Republicans. The legislation was passed on Thursday morning.
The vote, 216-214, only saw two members of the GOP — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartza from Indiana — vote against President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” tax package, which was a top priority for Johnson who had been handed the mission of making sure the bill was passed despite the tariff war.
“It represents a significant win for the second-term GOP leader and underscores his skill at corralling some of the GOP’s wiliest figures, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) and other fiscal hawks who publicly complained about how the bill would add to the deficit,” Trending Politics News said.
“The bill, soon to be signed into law by President Trump, will serve as the GOP’s blueprint for slashing federal spending on top of the cuts brought about by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency, which continues its crusade to save a predicted $1 trillion in its first year,” the report added.
“President Trump spent the final days of negotiations calling hesitant lawmakers in a bid to extend his signature 2017 tax cuts. Although the spending will not be entirely paid for, he and Johnson have promised to partially cover the cost through deep cuts to the federal workforce,” it continued.
How did Johnson get the support of fiscally-minded conservatives? Many are saying that the speaker got their support in exchange for promising to cut a whopping $1.5 trillion from the government’s 2026 fiscal year budget, despite Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, not fully endorsing that particular number on Thursday.
“We have got to do something to get the country on a more sustainable fiscal path,” Thune said in comments made to the New York Times, going on to add that his “ambition in the Senate” was “aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlines.”
“We have a lot of United States senators who believe that is a minimum,” he revealed.
“Congratulations to the House on the passage of a Bill that sets the stage for one of the Greatest and Most Important Signings in the History of our Country. Among many other things, it will be the Largest Tax and Regulation Cuts ever even contemplated. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” President Trump said in a post published on Truth Social shortly after the budget’s passage.
Look to Trump and Johnson pointing to economic data and tariff negotiations as a sign that the U.S. can support greater spending on record-breaking tax cuts. On Thursday the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Consumer Price Index hit its lowest rate since July of 2022 while a better-than-expected jobs report for March showed that employers are bullish about hiring in the fourth month of Trump’s presidency.
It seems that the president’s use of tariffs is turning out to be a rather successful strategy as at least 70 countries have now agreed to come to the negotiation table. Trump responded to the news by placing a pause on the tariffs and pared them down to 10 percent across the board, though he slapped China in the chops with a 125 percent tariff.
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