House Speaker Mike Johnson on Sunday defended the “offensive” timetable he is pushing to advance President Donald Trump's “Big Beautiful Building,” saying the house is on track to pass a “historic” legislative package by anniversary.
The House Budget Committee will meet again at 10pm on Sunday night after a vote to advance over 1,100 pages of “one big beautiful bill.”
“We're on track, and we'll walk through the clock and bring this national formation law to the American people as quickly as possible,” Johnson appeared on “Fox News Sunday” about the ongoing negotiations. “All 11 people on our committee have finished their work and they spent less and less salvation than we originally anticipated.
WH research warns that if Trump's budget bill fails, 9 million Americans could lose their health insurance in a “major” recession
House speaker, Mike Johnson, R-LA. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)
After the bill moved forward through the Budget Committee, Johnson said the plan would be to move legislative packaging to the House Rules Committee by the middle of the week and then “meet the deadline for the first Memorial Day” by the weekend.
“It's very important for people to understand why we're so aggressive with our schedules and why this is really important,” Johnson said. “This is the way to carry out the mandate that Americans gave us in the last election. You're going to make historic savings for the American people, historic tax relief for American workers, and historic investments in border security.
“At the same time, we are restoring American energy control and rebuilding our defense industrial bases. We are ensuring that programs like Medicaid and Snap will be strengthened for the American citizens who need them and deserve them, and not wasted on people who are unable to receive illegal aliens or those who are cheating on the system,” he added.
Johnson stressed that it is important to make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent by 2026, and that the package eliminates overtime and tip taxes. He also said that it would “help everyone across the country to encourage American-made production and manufacturing to reduce taxes on job creators,” including new tax relief for seniors on social security.
Rep. Ralph Norman (Rs.C.) will arrive at a House Republican meeting at the Capitol Visitors Center on the Budget Settlement Bill on Thursday, May 15, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, Getty Images)
A handful of Republicans sink Trump's “big, beautiful bill” in major House committees
“It's a big deal. We can't fail. We'll do that for the Americans,” Johnson said.
South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman and Texas Rep. Chip Roy are among the critics of Johnson's own party, who say speakers aren't serious about cutting spending. They hope that healthy adult Medicaid recipients will be implemented sooner than 2029. Johnson said he shares “Fox News Sunday,” but the speaker added “there is concerns about his ability to “reoccur and carry out a verification process” of the system.
“We're working through all these details and we're going to do that, but this is the biggest spending cut in at least 30 years, and it's probably long. It's historic. It's historic.
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, will listen at a markup meeting with Capitol Hill House Budget Committee on Washington, DC on May 16, 2025 (Anna Money Maker/Getty Images)
“We're that. This is our opportunity to do it. Like I said, it's once a generation and we can't waste it,” Johnson said.
The speaker said he could compromise on Medicaid's job requirements to crush internal conflicts while he is confident, but Republican leaders do not expect a single Democrat to vote for the bill.
Click here to get the Fox News app
“So they clearly record that they support the biggest tax hike in US history, which is something that happens by default after the end of this year if we don't accomplish this job. We have to achieve this mission.
