I helped Trump get his first tax cut through Congress. Failure is not an option

In a matter of months, over $4 trillion dollars in tax hikes are set to kick in unless Republicans can get their act together on budget reconciliation.  

As White House director of Legislative Affairs in 2017, when President Donald Trump delivered historic tax relief for working families, I witnessed the challenges of passing massive legislation via budget reconciliation. But, with zero Democrat votes to reduce our corporate tax rate and bring home American jobs, budget reconciliation was our only path. 

Today, Republicans in Congress face a similar challenge. The House Budget Committee resolution, passed in committee on February 13, offers the swiftest path to avoiding the impending tax hikes because, unlike the current Senate vehicle, it actually includes tax provisions! Trump is right to support the “one big, beautiful bill.”   

MEDICAID BECOMES FLASHPOINT IN HOUSE DEBATE OVER TRUMP BUDGET BILL

Unlike in 2017, Republicans do not have a 20-plus member majority in the House. Then, a dozen of their members, including current UN Ambassador nominee Elise Stefanik, revolted against the president’s economic agenda over parochial concerns about the reforms to the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction, and yet, we were still able to get the bill over the finish line. In 2025, Republicans cannot afford to lose even three votes. 

Only one bill, advancing conservative priorities on tax, immigration and spending cuts, has a shot at making it across the finish line. If Republicans fail to protect American families, they will share responsibility with congressional Democrats for the crippling tax hike. 

Just passed out of committee, the House’s budget resolution provides room to extend Trump’s tax cuts, slashes spending by $2 trillion, and gives American industry the stability needed to invest in America for the long-haul.  

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The House’s one budget approach is the best way to ensure that tax reauthorization gets done as swiftly and surely as possible. The sooner, the better — not only because Americans won’t have to worry about potential tax hikes, but because making major investments takes time and confidence in the American economy. If the GOP tarries too long, Americans will be in the voting booths for midterms before they even start to feel the positive impact in their wallets and retirement accounts. 

The Senate’s argument that a two-budget approach would “keep optionality” doesn’t hold up. A two-budget approach means putting tax reauthorization on the backburner while areas of stronger conservative consensus like energy and immigration get fast-tracked. Those who argue in favor of the Senate’s strategy say that this will give Republicans an opportunity to warm up on something easy before they attempt something hard. But it also risks leaving the extension of tax relief behind.   

Even worse, a two-budget approach means not two bills but four bills that must be passed to succeed, as each budget resolution tees up its own reconciliation vehicle. While that certainly creates some “optionality,” it turns what is already a difficult task into something so hopelessly complicated that it has never been accomplished. 

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Republicans don’t have time to wait on tax reauthorization, nor sort out the Senate’s four-bill approach — and we certainly can’t wait until the latter half of the year to see if they have the numbers to get it done. Passing large pieces of legislation is supposed to be hard — our Framers designed it that way.  

With the slim margins House Speaker Mike Johnson is working with in the House, if we want to save American households from a $4-plus-trillion tax hike, Republicans need to consolidate behind the President Trump-backed, one big budget resolution, and get moving. Failure to do so will result in an economic calamity. 

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