Speaker Mike Johnson was counting on President Donald Trump to be the closer, to swoop in at the final hour, as he’s done time and again, and flip holdouts.
“The president’s a deal maker, he’s a closer, he’s a catalyst,” Rep. Nick LaLota, one of the more moderate Republicans who remains opposed to the reconciliation bill over the state and local tax deduction, said of Trump.
But if GOP leaders were counting on Trump to win over the more-than-a-dozen Republicans who say they won’t vote for this bill in its current form — and make no mistake: that’s exactly what leaders were hoping for on Tuesday — then Trump’s performance was a letdown.