He’s done it again. House Speaker Mike Johnson has managed to wrangle House Republicans in the dead of night. 

The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” is headed to President Donald Trump’s desk. As I’ve asked friends of mine on Capitol Hill over the last 48 hours if Johnson can get the bill across the line, their common refrain has been “he’s pulled a rabbit out of the hat several times already this Congress.” It’s true, but the reason the speaker has earned the nickname “Magic Mike” this Congress is because the rabbit he can pull out of the hat is big, blonde, and knows how to use the bully pulpit.

Make no mistake: President Donald Trump is the difference maker. For the last ten years, he’s transformed the Republican Party from the party of forever wars and free trade to a party that puts America First.

Whether they like it or not, he’s transformed the Democratic Party, too. Certainly, their blinding hatred of Trump is the glue that holds the Left’s coalition together. At the same time, however, Democrats have adopted some of Trump’s positions on China, trade, and reindustrialization. In the wake of their crushing defeat to Trump and Republicans in 2024, Democrats have even tried to change their tune on the border. In his hours-long ‘magic minute’ speech on the House floor before the vote on the reconciliation package, several of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ applause lines had to do with the importance of securing the southern border.

A political leader like this only comes around once in a generation. Yet too often I hear from members of Congress and Hill staffers that the Republican establishment is simply waiting the president out. It cannot be denied: None of the wins in the big, beautiful bill would have been possible without Trump.

Let’s name some of those wins. 

It makes tax cuts from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the signature legislative accomplishment from Trump’s first term, permanent. In doing so, Republicans have averted putting a $4 trillion tax increase on Americans over the next decade.

It allocates over $150 billion for the Trump administration to ramp up mass deportation operations and keep the southern border closed. Approximately $75 billion will go towards expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention capacity by 100,000 beds and hiring 10,000 new ICE agents. Almost $50 billion is for the wall and other border security measures. 

It protects programs like Medicaid and SNAP for Americans in need. Corrupt politicians in Washington, D.C., have turned a blind eye to fraudsters and illegal immigrants taking advantage of the American people for far too long. It’s a step in the right direction to ensure America’s most vulnerable get the help they deserve.

It cuts government spending more than any other budget reconciliation package in American history. Green subsidies passed under President Joe Biden will be scaled back. It makes strides to prevent blue states from pursuing reckless health care policies that abuse American tax dollars. 

Is it a perfect bill? Of course not. Republicans could have done more to end green energy subsidies. The Senate could have fought harder for more spending cuts. And, admittedly, the Medicaid reforms are a political gamble the American people will judge in future elections.

There are two reasons why Republicans ended up leaving meat on the bone. The first is understandable: Republicans are working with razor-thin majorities in both chambers and just a few moderates in either chamber could sink the bill. Like it or not, this is the team Republicans have. The second is less so. Senate Republicans could have, and should have, fought harder for provisions they ultimately allowed the Senate parliamentarian to strike out in the “Byrd bath.”

Did it have to happen this way? No. It would have been nice to see the House and Senate work faster so the two chambers could debate their differences and the House not get jammed with a Senate product.

But an alternative timeline is much worse. If Trump, despite efforts to imprison him for the rest of his life, did not run for a second term; if Trump had not turned his head at just the right millisecond in Butler, Pennsylvania; if Trump had not led Republicans to a trifecta by pulling off the most unbelievable political comeback in American history, Republicans would be in the wilderness, and the American people would bear the brunt.

For the last few months, I’ve been saying that everyone on Capitol Hill is going to be left feeling unhappy if Republicans are to get this across the finish line. After a week of little sleep, House members are hopping on flights headed home unhappy—and that’s probably a good thing.

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