- 5/20/2025
House Republicans held a press briefing after President Trump visited Capitol Hill.
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00:00Christine, I'm going to hang out here so there's more.
00:02That's on the street.
00:03Thanks, Amy.
00:04Do you want to sit there?
00:05Yes.
00:07I appreciate it.
00:08Yeah, no doubt.
00:09Is this your camera?
00:10Is this your camera?
00:16Hi, good people.
00:18Heads up, folks.
00:19I don't want to block this.
00:19Heads up.
00:21Heads up.
00:22Golly, golly.
00:23It is tight in here, isn't it?
00:25Yeah.
00:30Well, good morning, everybody.
00:45House Republicans just finished hearing from our president, and he delivered a clear message.
00:52And that message was, get the job done.
00:56Everyone in that room agreed we will deliver this victory for the president and, more importantly, for the American people.
01:05The stakes are too high, and we will not miss our chance.
01:10Now, switching gears to news that broke over the weekend, the American people are smart, but we already knew that.
01:17When the Biden-her tapes were released on Friday, it proved that Democrats hid and lied about Biden's condition.
01:26The American people knew they were being lied to.
01:30And this week, I hope no one takes the Democrats' bait or the Democrats' word for anything, especially when they keep lying and fear-mongering about the one big, beautiful bill.
01:43We will not let them get away with their lives, and I hope you all ask them about the tapes this week, too.
01:51Really interesting.
01:53Contrast that with House Republicans, who will remain on offense this week as we advance our one great, big, beautiful bill.
02:03We will pass this transformational legislation for the families who just lost loved ones to the border crisis.
02:11Families like Lankin Riley and Rachel Morin, who were both killed by violent, illegal immigrants, like Zach Cullen, who lost his life to fentanyl,
02:22and Agent Raul Gonzalez, who lost his life pursuing an illegal immigrant near the border.
02:30This historic opportunity to secure our border and make our communities safer.
02:34This bill provides technology to improve border enforcement.
02:41This bill provides resources to support border patrol agents that they so desperately need.
02:47This bill provides funding to deport more violent, illegal immigrants and materials to finish the wall.
02:56We have an opportunity right now before us to make generational investments in the safety of our communities.
03:05Let's close the floodgates and remove those that never should have been here in the first place.
03:12But let's not forget some of what other wins are in our bill and what's at stake.
03:18Like the people and the mom and pops, the businesses that are facing historic tax increase, if we don't get this bill done.
03:30They will not survive if we don't pass this bill.
03:33And those on Medicaid who need it strengthened, sustained, and secured, it's time we put them first, not illegal immigrants.
03:43That's what we promise the people, and that's what we intend to deliver, to put the American people first.
03:52And the one big beautiful bill delivers on those priorities.
03:55And I know every single House Republican will be proud of its passage.
04:01Because when it's all said and done, history will remember that Republicans put Americans first.
04:10And the Democrats didn't.
04:12And now I would like to turn it over to our chairman, Mark Green.
04:21Thank you, Speaker.
04:23Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and Alejandro Mayorkas' reckless disregard for the rule of law created an historic border crisis.
04:33Under the Biden and Harris administration, 13 million inadmissible aliens poured into our country, overwhelming Border Patrol and CBP officers, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, and, of course, throwing many of our communities into chaos.
04:49Illegal gang activity.
04:51Influx of fentanyl.
04:52You've heard us talk about it before.
04:54I saw an article the other day from one of you guys, 60% decrease in the murder rate in one city where ICE had removed the gang members.
05:03After four years, the American people were sick of it.
05:07They're tired of it.
05:09And, of course, they gave Republicans the trifecta because we put them first.
05:14As of April, southwest border encounters were down over 90%, and that's down from the lowest point in the previous administration.
05:25And that lowest point happened not because of anything that the Biden administration had done.
05:31That lowest point happened because of what Texas did with Operation Lone Star.
05:36But even from that point, it's down 90% in April, the best numbers we've had ever in the history of this country, and that's because of the actions of this president,
05:47who delivered on his promise to secure the border and enforce our laws.
05:53But if Congress fails to act, this success will be short-lived.
05:59I'm proud of the Committee on Homeland Security's work to include common-sense border security legislation.
06:05That is a generational opportunity to actually secure our border.
06:10We've tried so many times in the past.
06:13Now we will codify these executive actions, and we will do our job in Congress and resource this effort.
06:22$7 billion to recruit and train new border agents, billions of dollars to build the wall.
06:30And it's a high-tech, lights, cameras, access to observe, $5 billion in technology enhancements.
06:38All the support that we can give to the border states, we're going to expand Operation Stone Garden,
06:45those grants for those states that actually work with the Department of Homeland Security to secure our border,
06:50all in this bill, all because the American people said enough is enough,
06:55and all because they elected Donald Trump and a Republican Congress.
06:59I now will be followed by one of my mentors and heroes in this building, Jim Jordan.
07:07Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
07:08You know why the Democrats dislike this bill so much?
07:11Because it's so darn Republican.
07:13It embraces three fundamental Republican principles.
07:18Cut taxes, secures the border, requires work.
07:21We're the party that believes you should let mom and dads keep more of their money to chase down their goals and dreams.
07:26We're the party that believes you should actually have a secure border.
07:29This bill does it, as Chairman Green just pointed out.
07:32And we're the party that believes able-bodied adults, if they're going to get your money, should have to work.
07:38It's good for taxpayers.
07:40It's good for the economy.
07:41Most importantly, it's good for that individual.
07:44This bill embraces three fundamental principles of our party.
07:47That's why I think it's really important that Republicans lean in and go tell the American people how important this legislation is,
07:54how it keeps faith with what we told the voters we were going to do last November, why they elected us, and it's right on point.
08:03So I'm confident we're going to get there this week, get the votes that we need to get this thing passed,
08:08because it does the things we said we were going to do.
08:11And with that, I yield to the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, Chairman Smith.
08:15Thank you, Jim.
08:18President Trump promised and delivered, and now the House will, too.
08:23The one big, beautiful bill stops the largest tax increase in history and focuses benefits on workers, families, farmers, and small businesses.
08:34It unleashes made-in-America manufacturing and delivers on President Trump's promise to all American workers.
08:42This is an economic growth agenda combined with historic spending reforms that protects those in need
08:50and puts America on a path to a better future.
08:55$140 billion in your tax dollars shouldn't go to illegal immigrants who have broken the law.
09:03Instead, Republicans are putting that money towards no tax on tips and no tax on overtime.
09:12Fortunately, 77 million Americans have already weighed in.
09:16We're going to deliver on the President's promises, and we're going to help working and middle-class Americans.
09:23This is very personal for me.
09:25I grew up in a single-wide trailer in a town of less than 5,000 people.
09:30The average income in my hometown is just over $24,000.
09:38My priority is the working class.
09:40That is the priority of President Trump, and that is the priority of the Republican Party.
09:45And this bill delivers for them.
09:47My neighbors back home and hard-working families and communities, just like in Salem, Missouri, and all across the United States.
09:56According to the Council of Economic Advisors, the no tax on tips policy alone will lead to an additional $1,700 in the pockets of each of the 4 million different tipped employees working in communities throughout this nation.
10:16Family take-home pay will increase up to $13,300 under the one big, beautiful bill.
10:25And the same study showed that tax relief for seniors, meanwhile, would increase the average take-home pay for qualifying seniors by approximately $450 per year.
10:38I'm proud to say we're taking the President's promise and going even farther by delivering even greater benefits for them.
10:46I've said it before, and I'll say it again.
10:50Failure is not an option.
10:52We have to deliver for the American people.
10:54Please turn over to Whippemer.
10:58Thanks, Jason.
11:00This week, House Republicans face a historic moment that has the potential to revive the American dream
11:06and solidify the comeback that has already begun under President Donald J. Trump.
11:11From our nation's farmers to police officers working 60 hours a week,
11:17from America's top manufacturers to small businesses on Main Street,
11:22our one big, beautiful bill holds promise for every American.
11:27In fact, nearly 1,000 organizations, nearly 1,000 organizations have already expressed support for the policies within the bill.
11:37The Job Creators Network described our reconciliation bill as, quote,
11:41exactly what the country needs to jumpstart the economy and guarantee the safety and prosperity of Americans for decades to come, end quote.
11:51The National Association of Manufacturers said of this landmark legislation, quote,
11:56We need certainty now, and this is the moment to deliver one big, beautiful bill that lets us compete and win, end quote.
12:06Their warning could not be more true.
12:08The time to get this done is now.
12:11Not only does this legislation make the 2017 Trump tax cuts permanent
12:16and implement no tax on tips and overtime pay,
12:20it also unleashes American energy, cuts waste, fraud, and abuse,
12:25and allows President Trump to continue his successful deportation and border security operations.
12:32And that's only naming a handful of things this bill accomplishes.
12:36Our reconciliation bill delivers on President Trump's America First agenda,
12:41and it does so while saving the American people over $1.6 trillion.
12:46The one big, beautiful bill is truly a once-in-a-generation chance to get America back on track.
12:55House Republicans must seize this opportunity, and quickly, as my good friend Jason Smith just said,
13:03failure is not an option.
13:04With that, I turn it over to our leader, Steve Scalise.
13:07Thank you, Whip.
13:13Well, this morning, President Trump had a strong and clear message to a packed House Republican conference,
13:20and that is after months of long, intense discussions over really important differences and issues.
13:26This one big, beautiful bill has come through the committee process,
13:33and it's time to end the negotiations, unify behind this bill, and get it passed on to the Senate.
13:41And what President Trump really talked about was the things that we all talked about during the campaign,
13:46how important it was to prevent a tax increase on working-class families.
13:53Low- and middle-income families would see a large, painful tax increase if this bill were not to happen.
14:00And look, we all know every Democrat's going to vote no.
14:03They've bragged about it.
14:04They are fighting tooth and nail to stop us from preventing a tax increase.
14:10Democrats also made it clear they want open borders,
14:13and they sure don't want the provisions of this bill,
14:16as Chairman Green and Chairman Jordan talked about,
14:19that will give our Border Patrol agents the tools they've been asking for for years
14:23to finally have the technology to be able to compete with the drug cartels
14:28and have better tools than the cartels of Mexico have to secure our border,
14:33to complete construction of the wall,
14:36to deport criminals who came to America to harm our citizens.
14:41And President Trump is finally following through on that promise to secure our border,
14:47but he needs more tools to do it.
14:49Something we also ran on was producing more energy in America.
14:54And this bill reverses the Biden-era policies that shut off American energy,
15:00making our country more dependent on hostile nations,
15:03giving Putin billions of dollars a month more to fund his war in Ukraine by shutting American energy off.
15:12This bill opens it back up again.
15:14It generates more money.
15:16It generates opportunity for families.
15:18It generates higher wages for hardworking taxpayers.
15:22It will generate real economic growth to lower inflation,
15:26the lower costs at the grocery store,
15:28to lower interest rates.
15:30All the things that 77 million voters gave us a mandate to go deliver on.
15:37I know that we've got a few final issues to resolve,
15:40but as President Trump said today,
15:42it's time to stop the talking and we need action.
15:48We need to deliver for those families who have been waiting way too long
15:51for the results that are in this one big, beautiful bill.
15:54A lot of great policies to deliver for those families is just waiting.
15:59We're going to deliver this week.
16:00We're going to bring the bill.
16:02Failure absolutely is not an option.
16:04We've got to get this done.
16:05The man leading that charge here in the House,
16:09who President Trump had some great words about,
16:11is our speaker, Mike Johnson.
16:15Thank you, Leader.
16:16Thanks to all these great leaders standing behind me.
16:19I tell you what, we're in a very good mood this morning.
16:22We had an epic time on the Hill.
16:24I don't think there's ever been a time
16:27when I've been more proud to be a Republican, to be an American.
16:30We're on the verge of making history here, and everybody feels it.
16:32In that room today with President Trump,
16:34it was filled with standing ovations and high energy and high excitement
16:37because everybody senses what's happening here.
16:39It was a great esprit de corps,
16:41and we're blessed to serve under and with a president
16:44who understands the necessity of these relationships
16:47and is willing to roll his sleeves up
16:49and come stand in the trenches to be a part of this excitement of what's happening.
16:53From the outset of the budget reconciliation process,
16:56we have sought to enact President Trump's full agenda,
16:59not just parts of it.
17:00And that's why we call it the One Big Beautiful Bill,
17:02because really everything is sandwiched into this.
17:05The American people were sick of wasteful spending
17:07and high inflation and open borders and weakness on the world stage.
17:11And you know what we're working towards right now?
17:12The opposite of all those things.
17:14President Trump has used his executive authority in historic ways
17:17to stop much of the bleeding.
17:19But Congress has a role and a responsibility to step in at this stage
17:23to stitch up and mend those wounds for good.
17:26And that's what this legislation is about.
17:27We cannot leave the American people waiting or wanting.
17:31The One Big Beautiful Bill enshrines into law
17:33and funds President Trump's promises.
17:35There's a lot of them, because we had to make them,
17:37because after the last four years, everything was an absolute disaster.
17:40So he's promised to cut wasteful spending and save taxpayers' money.
17:43Check. That's what we're doing.
17:45Make permanent historic tax cuts
17:46and prevent the largest tax hike in U.S. history.
17:49Check. That's what we're doing.
17:50Invest in our national defense and homeland security
17:52in a fiscally responsible manner. That, too.
17:54Re-establish American energy dominance.
17:57And basically restore common sense to the government.
18:00That's what the American people elected him to do.
18:02This bill does all that and so much more.
18:05And as a reminder, we're right on schedule.
18:07Our House budget resolution gave instructions
18:09to 11 separate committees in the House
18:11to write their portions of the budget reconciliation bill.
18:15And they did it right on target.
18:17Every instructed committee exceeded those targets, in fact,
18:20that they were given through our resolution.
18:21That means the committees that were told to spend have spent less.
18:26And the committees that were told to save
18:27actually found more savings than they were targeting.
18:31And the bill delivered more than $1.5 trillion
18:33in savings mandated by the budget resolution.
18:37That is historic.
18:37There's never been anything like it before.
18:39And we're proud to deliver it.
18:41This is a whole-of-Congress response
18:42to a whole-of-government problem.
18:44And the results of all this work for over a year
18:46has now come to fruition.
18:47Every House Republican has engaged in the process.
18:50The White House has been involved,
18:52as you saw most recently within the last hour.
18:54The Senate has been involved.
18:56Constituent groups from around the country
18:58made their voices heard.
18:59And that's why, as the whip said,
19:01nearly 1,000 organizations have issued
19:04enthusiastic public endorsements about this legislation.
19:07I don't think there's ever been anything like that.
19:10No legislation has ever garnered that much support.
19:13It's really something.
19:14We never promised it'd be easy.
19:16We never thought this was going to be an effortless process
19:19because when you're doing this much
19:21in a bill this large and complicated and comprehensive,
19:24there's a lot of opinions in the room.
19:26We respect that in the Republican Party.
19:28We're people of deep principle and settled philosophy,
19:31and you're going to get differences of opinion
19:33when you work through these things.
19:34That's part of it.
19:35We welcome it.
19:37Nothing in Congress is ever easy,
19:38especially when you have small margins.
19:40But we are going to land this plane and deliver this.
19:42And we're proud of what we've accomplished together.
19:44Every member of the conference can be proud
19:47of this legislation in the end.
19:49It's truly a nation-shaping piece of legislation.
19:51You heard some of the highlights here.
19:53Let me just give you a couple of things
19:54that haven't been mentioned yet
19:55or can't be mentioned enough.
19:57Some of the big conservative wins in the bill
19:59that are common-sense wins for the American people.
20:02Putting Americans first.
20:03I love what Chairman Jordan said.
20:05This is really simple.
20:05We're delivering.
20:06We're doing what we said we were going to do.
20:08When you talk about putting Americans first,
20:09we're making the largest investment in border security
20:11and over a generation providing nearly $150 billion
20:15to secure our border and deport illegal aliens.
20:18We are cracking down on illegal aliens
20:20receiving Medicaid, Medicare, SNAP, and tax benefits
20:24that are intended for the citizens of this country.
20:26We're shifting the cost of adjudication
20:28in the immigration system from the American taxpayer
20:31to the aliens themselves.
20:32And we're imposing a fee on remittance payments
20:34to foreign countries by illegal aliens.
20:37Second category, providing historic tax relief.
20:40We're going to eliminate taxes on tips and overtime
20:42and provide tax relief for seniors on Social Security.
20:45We're going to eliminate taxes on auto loan interest
20:47if that car is made in the U.S.,
20:49lowering the cost of borrowing from America's farmers
20:51and providing tax relief for job creators.
20:53Another category, bringing back common sense.
20:56I mean, that's the continuing theme here
20:57that we all talk about.
20:58We're repealing and rolling back over $500 billion
21:01in funding for the radical Green New Deal policies
21:04from Biden's so-called Inflation Reduction Act.
21:07We call it the Inflation Act.
21:08We're ending Biden's war on American energy.
21:11We're banning Medicaid dollars
21:12from going to transgender surgeries for minors.
21:15We're canceling Biden's student loan repayment program.
21:18We're increasing university endowment tax
21:21for these big woke institutions.
21:23We're revoking tax against status for nonprofits
21:25that materially support terrorism.
21:27We're doubling the jail time
21:29for leaks of confidential taxpayer information.
21:32We're eliminating big businesses' ability
21:34to engage in woke PR campaigns
21:36to facilitate refundability for green energy projects.
21:39We're incentivizing federal workforce
21:41to be at-will employees,
21:43and we're repealing Biden's disastrous EV mandate.
21:47The stakes couldn't be any higher.
21:48We could go on and on.
21:49It's over 1,000 pages.
21:50I could list all the wins,
21:51but we only have so much time.
21:53Despite the overwhelming popularity
21:54of so many of these provisions in this bill,
21:57the guys on the other side of the congressional Democrats
21:59have refused to engage with us in this process at all.
22:02They're not going to vote for anything
22:03that I just listed for you,
22:04and make no mistake about it.
22:06This week, they're going to vote for.
22:08They're going to vote for
22:09the largest increase in taxes in American history.
22:12They're going to vote against border security,
22:14against American energy dominance,
22:16and against broadly popular policies,
22:18such as work requirements to shore up Medicaid.
22:21President Trump's one big, beautiful bill
22:23is going to require one big, beautiful vote,
22:25and this is our shot.
22:27Best chance.
22:27This is our best chance that we'll ever have
22:29in our lifetimes, in any of us,
22:30in any of our lifetimes,
22:31to deliver on the mandate handed down
22:33by so many Americans.
22:3477 million Americans voted for President Trump,
22:37more than that.
22:38And in fact, it's exactly what Republicans
22:40were sent to Washington to accomplish,
22:42as Chairman Jordan said.
22:44By passing this legislation,
22:46wages will increase as much as $11,600.
22:49Take-home pay for the typical American family
22:51with two kids will increase by $13,300 a year,
22:55as many as 4.2 million full-time equivalent jobs
22:59will be created because of this legislation.
23:01But if we fail, here's the alternative.
23:03Here's what the Democrats are going to vote for.
23:05Every American citizen seen a 22% tax hike.
23:0826 million businesses would see a tax increase to 43%.
23:11We'd lose nearly 6 million jobs in the economy
23:14and about a trillion dollars in GDP, by some estimates.
23:18The Border Patrol and ICE would lack the resources
23:21to detain and deport criminal illegal aliens,
23:23and 1.4 million illegals would continue
23:26to receive taxpayer funding of health care.
23:29Look, we could go on and on this morning
23:31about finishing the border wall
23:33and accomplishing all these things
23:34that we've talked about,
23:36but I'm going to just end it here
23:37and tell you that failure is simply not an option.
23:39We have to get this done.
23:40I told President Trump on the campaign trail
23:42that I believed he could be
23:43the most consequential president of the modern era
23:45and arguably maybe one of the most in all of U.S. history,
23:48maybe top two or three.
23:50I think this is the way we deliver that.
23:52And by extension, that means that this Congress
23:54can be one of the most consequential in history.
23:57We do not take that lightly.
23:58And despite the challenges
23:59and the nonstop media criticism
24:01and the historically small House majority,
24:03we are right on track to deliver,
24:05and that's what you'll see this House do this week.
24:07Now, we're not going to take a lot of questions this morning
24:08because we've already done a ton of media
24:10with you in the halls.
24:11The president gave you a lot.
24:12We gave you a lot.
24:13But what we're leaving to do right now
24:15is gather up the small subgroups
24:17in the House Republican Conference
24:18and tie up the remaining loose ends.
24:20I'm very confident that we'll be able to do that.
24:22There's a great esprit de corps in the room this morning
24:24because everybody knows what's at stake.
24:26All the things we've talked about here this morning,
24:28we are going to get this done.
24:30So this is a rare thing.
24:32I'm going to say hold the questions
24:33and let me go get back to work
24:35so we can finish this thing up.
24:36Okay, thanks for being here.