House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Sunday that President Donald Trump's megabill will be "jet fuel" for the economy despite Democrats' criticisms.
Johnson, who ceremoniously handed Trump the gavel after the president signed his signature tax cuts and spending package into law Friday, teased two future bills to be passed within the next year. In an appearance on "Fox News Sunday," he said the "big, beautiful bill," which is "a huge leap forward for our priorities," is the first step in a three-tier strategy. Johnson expects a second reconciliation bill by fall and a third by spring before the end of the current Congress.
"I think we can do that, and so you'll see more of us advancing these common-sense principles to deliver that American First agenda for the people," Johnson said. "That's what they elected us to do, and this was hugely forward."
Johnson pushed back on a reported Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) memo claiming Republicans will lose the majority in 2026 as a result of the "big, beautiful bill."
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"Our Republicans are going to be out across the country telling the simple truth, and guess what? It will be demonstrated," Johnson said. "Everyone will have more take-home pay, they'll have more jobs and opportunity. The economy will be doing better, and we'll be able to point to that as the obvious result of what we did. So don't buy into those false talking points."
The speaker dismissed criticisms from Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and DNC Chair Ken Martin in particular as "old, tired talking points" that are typically used against any Republican tax legislation.
Johnson stressed that the bill permanently extends the 2017 Trump tax cuts, which the speaker claims targeted lower- and middle-income Americans. He said the bottom 20% of earners witnessed their lowest federal tax rates in 40 years because of those original cuts and said that the new megabill expands on that by cutting taxes on tips, overtime pay, and seniors - benefits that he says will help Republicans during the 2026 midterm elections.
"We're giving everybody a tax cut," Johnson told "Fox News Sunday" host Shannon Bream. "And that's going to help the economy, it's going be jet fuel. Small business owners, entrepreneurs, risk-takers, the people that provide the jobs, manufacturers, farmers get assistance here, and that will lift the economy."
Citing the Council of Joint Economic Advisers, Johnson said the megabill will spur 3% economic growth, create 4 million jobs and increase the average household's take-home pay by $13,000.
"This is a great thing for people who go to work every day," Johnson said. "They're going to feel that. And we're excited about the upcoming election cycle in '26. Because people will be riding an economic high, just as we did after the first two years of the first Trump administration. This time it's on steroids."
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Johnson also responded to criticism from Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., who argued that the megabill makes tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans permanent, while those for the working class "are time sensitive" and "expire in a couple of years."
"Now, I don't think he read the bill, it's 940 pages, so I would give some grace on that," Johnson said in response to Ivey's claims.
Bream noted that Ivey was listening while the bill text was read on the Senate floor last Sunday.
"Yeah, you're right, for 19 hours or whatever it took," Johnson said. "If you make between $30,000 and $80,000 a year, you can have a 15% less federal tax rate. You're going to save more money, you're going to keep more of your hard-earned money, and that's not going away. So by making all these tax cuts permanent, it's the largest tax bill, the most important, most consequential tax bill that Congress has ever passed because of what it does for people who go out and work hard every day."
Johnson said the bill pushes "pro-growth policies" and constitutes the "largest savings for the taxpayers in U.S. history."
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"In the bill, we're also going to secure the border permanently. We're going to return to American energy dominance again, which is going to also be jet fuel to the economy," Johnson said. "We're gonna take care of peace through strength because we're going to give important investments in our military industrial complex, which will help us in our competition with China. There is so much in this bill."
