President-elect Donald Trump ordered congressional Republicans Sunday to pass “one powerful” MAGA bill that will ram through his most controversial policies on everything from taxes to immigration.
“Republicans must unite, and quickly deliver these Historic Victories for the American People. Get smart, tough, and send the Bill to my desk to sign as soon as possible,” he wrote in a Sunday evening post on his Truth Social network. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump has made promises to enact a merciless immigration crackdown that could see millions deported, to cancel green energy projects to make way for more oil and gas drilling, and to extend tax cuts passed during his first term that disproportionately benefit the rich.
He reasserted his claim that he will finance these plans with tariffs on imports of foreign goods, which experts say could make inflation worse for American consumers.
“Members of Congress are getting to work on one powerful Bill that will bring our Country back, and make it greater than ever before,” Trump wrote. “We must Secure our Border, Unleash American Energy, and Renew the Trump Tax Cuts, which were the largest in History, but we will make it even better-NO TAX ON TIPS,” he added, hinting at the sweeping agenda he expects congressional Republicans to quickly enact, including a promise to remove income tax on service workers’ tips.
“IT WILL ALL BE MADE UP WITH TARIFFS, AND MUCH MORE, FROM COUNTRIES THAT HAVE TAKEN ADVANTAGE OF THE U.S. FOR YEARS,” Trump wrote.
Donald Trump/Truth Social
House Leader Mike Johnson (R-LA) told Fox News earlier Sunday that, despite having a razor-thin majority in the lower chamber, he plans to pass the sweeping legislation in the House by early April and get it to Trump’s desk by Memorial Day.
While Johnson has made peace with what he called Trump’s idea of a “big, beautiful bill,” other Republicans on Capitol Hill have expressed reservations about the one-bill approach.
The right-wing House Freedom Caucus made its opposition to one big policy bill known last month in a letter to Johnson demanding one bill to deal with border security and a “larger reconciliation bill covering taxes, spending, energy, bureaucracy, and more.”
In the House, where the GOP has the slimmest majority in nearly a century, it would only take one or two Republicans to break rank to jeopardise a piece of legislation’s prospects. In fact, it required Trump’s personal intervention last week to get Johnson reelected speaker after Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Keith Self (R-TX) initially opposed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) seemed to express reservations on Sunday about Trump’s ambition, namely his ability to enact his hardline immigration agenda. “Is it realistic to deport everybody?” he asked during an appearance on Meet the Press, “I mean, there’s a lot of people in this country who are here illegally.”
Thune’s remarks appeared to suggest a belief the incoming administration may want to consider adopting a more incremental approach to its core policy.
