Prayers and the President: How Mike Johnson Used Trump to Get the Freedom Caucus On Board

Trump made clear to holdouts it was time to get on board. “You’re stupid if you vote against this bill,” the president told the House Freedom Caucus chair.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson
Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call via AP

Speaker Mike Johnson has been steadfast in his belief that the House would pass President Donald Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill” by Memorial Day weekend, even as holdouts in his conference called for more time for negotiations and said his timeline was unrealistic.

Turns out, Johnson was right — he just needed Trump’s help to get there.

House Republicans took a victory lap after the bill passed the House early Thursday morning, and they were visibly exhausted as they fled the Capitol. But they all managed to credit one person for getting the bill through: Trump.