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Congressional Republicans have a small window for a big win: if the House GOP can sit together and agree on a budget resolution with the Senate GOP and President-elect Trump, every employer and worker in America wins big money at the end of February: The extension of Trump’s tax cuts.
But the debate among Republicans right now is whether to take the wide gate or the narrow gate. Right now it looks like the Congressional GOP is headed for a wide gate. Stop gambling. Such a bet. What an unnecessary risk.
If the GOP can get their act together they won’t pass two budget recovery packages in early summer. That will allow more time to refine an admittedly complex tax package.
But they can get 70%+ of the tax package right now, along with big raises on the border and rebuilding our military. There is a lot of disagreement among Republicans over the fine print of the IRS code and that means tough negotiations are coming over other provisions of the tax code. But the essence of the hour should be: The perfect must not be the enemy of the good. That is what is happening right now.
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If for any reason the GOP House majority breaks—and the majority is so small that those breaking reasons will come like the ubiquitous Beltway pollen in April—a second reconciliation will fail down the line and big tax hikes will follow. hit all businesses in America come January 1, 2026.
Small businesses need certainty more than anything. They cannot get certainty about marketing effectiveness or the best product mix. But they absolutely need certainty about the tax code. That’s how retirees look at withdrawing their money. So are large companies that want to invest heavily in manufacturing or data centers. All of these decisions are on hold until Congress provides its representatives with at least some certainty about the IRS Code.
HOUSE GOP FISCAL HAWKS WARN TRUMP’S TAX CUT AT RISK OF RUNNING OUT UNDER NEW FORWARD-LOOKING PLAN
President-elect Trump would be well served by seeking “all of the above” in the first reconciliation. Some Members of Congress are heeding Trump’s senior adviser Stephen Miller’s call for immediate legal action at the border and mistaking the consistent and unified message of “Border matters only.” Miller is absolutely right to continue to emphasize the need to approve and fully fund the completion of the Wall, the expansion of Border Patrol and ICE checkpoints and -100% enforcement.
But Miller not saying the president-elect wants it only border and immigration provisions in the first budget reconciliation package. In addition to the border provisions and military rebuilding, Trump has promised an extension and review of his signature tax cuts. He must deliver on that promise that actually unlocks the economic recovery and productivity gains the country needs to ease inflation, lower interest rates and charge real economic growth.
The United States Capitol building is seen in Washington DC, United States on Dec. 2, 2024. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The country’s private sector needs certainty about the tax code. As soon as possible, and as much as possible. Trump wants a second Trump boom – the kind of economy he presided over before COVID brought the world to a standstill for two years.
That’s right there, but the Congressional GOP has grown hesitant to find the discipline to do it all right now. The biggest gamble I’ve seen since Speaker McConnell announced that there would be no hearings and no votes on any nominee to replace Justice Scalia after the great man died suddenly in early 2016.
McConnell rightly recognized that the Supreme Court’s direction was an important issue, as Americans cared deeply about our basic trust in the Constitution as written and amended. McConnell made a big bet, which Trump saw and suggested when he released his list of potential 2016 nominees and Barack Obama called it a mistake to nominate Merrick Garland. Trump and McConnell (and the Constitution) won.
Now, however, the GOP majority in Congress is sending signs of panic in the face of overwhelming odds. Senators and representatives should focus and use to achieve greater success right now. Not just border debts. Not just military reconstruction. But tax cuts and more really.
A view of the US Capitol in Washington DC, United States, on Nov. 4, 2024. Anthony Brandisi served one term in the US House of Representatives. (Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A rare opportunity for free markets and free people. But Congress must seize this moment and pass a major, game-changing bill. Fortune favors the brave, and so does the 2026 election. Do you want to keep and grow GOP officials? Free the American businessman sooner rather than later (or never at all if bad things happen to the small majority in the house.)
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Trump will take his nominees. And he can get everything he wants from the initial budget and reconciliation. Here’s hoping the Transition Team makes time for the President-elect to speak with Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Thune to clarify his “must haves.” Trump the builder will know that opportunities are passing. I hope he persuades the GOP to act like its majority will be gone in April. Because it can be.
The ghost of Jim Jeffords must be haunting both sides of the Hill right now. And if you don’t get that clue, you won’t understand why there’s any real urgency right now.
Hugh Hewitt is the host of “The Hugh Hewitt Show,” heard weekday mornings from 6am to 9am ET on the Salem Radio Network, and simulcast on the Salem News Channel. Hugh Awakens America on over 400 stations nationwide, and on every broadcast platform where SNC can be seen. He is a regular guest on Fox News Channel’s news desk hosted by Bret Baier weekdays at 6pm ET. A native of Ohio and a graduate of Harvard College and the University of Michigan Law School, Hewitt has been a Professor of Law at the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University since 1996 where he teaches Constitution. Hewitt launched his eponymous radio show from Los Angeles in 1990. Hewitt has appeared frequently on every major national television news network, hosted television shows for PBS and MSNBC, written for every major American newspaper, authored a dozen books and moderated the Republican Party. Candidate debates, most recently the November 2023 Republican presidential debate in Miami and the four Republican presidential debates in the 2015-16 cycle. Hewitt focuses his radio show and his column on the Constitution, national security, American politics and the Cleveland Browns and Guardians. Hewitt has interviewed tens of thousands of guests from Democrats Hillary Clinton and John Kerry to Republican Presidents George W. Bush and Donald Trump during his 40 years on the air, and this column previews the top stories to drive the radio/show his TV show today.
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