The Trump-Johnson-Thune Team Is On a Roll

David N. Bossie | July 22, 2025
(The Washington Times) — Something fascinating is taking place in Washington, something that hasn’t happened in decades. Thanks to President Trump, it seems that common sense has returned to our nation’s capital, with a refocus on fiscal responsibility that has been absent from our federal government since the 1990s and House Speaker Newt Gingrich.
It has been an amazing sight to behold, watching most Republicans in Congress openly talking about our debilitating $36 trillion national debt and irresponsible budget deficits and finally attempting to start fixing the problem. This long-overdue conversation about our dire fiscal situation has done something extraordinary: forced the mainstream media and the American people to talk about it, which is a nightmare for the reckless tax-and-spenders in the Democratic Party.
The Republican majority in Congress has an optimistic spring in its step as it follows Mr. Trump’s fearless leadership and vision to secure our country’s financial health. With the passage of the president’s $9 billion rescissions package, getting his One Big Beautiful Bill Act enacted into law and legislators following the lead of the Department of Government Efficiency to codify much-needed cuts and efficiencies in the federal bureaucracy through an open appropriations process that meets funding deadlines, the team of President Trump, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune is on a roll.
Simple truths long forgotten have suddenly reentered the political lexicon. These include the fact that our unsustainable national debt is an existential threat to the survival of our great nation, sustained trillion-dollar annual budget deficits are a thorn in the side of vibrant markets, unchecked welfare and entitlement programs are going insolvent and must be reformed, high taxes and regulations stifle prosperity, and tariffs and negotiating fair trade deals can be effective tools in raising revenue and spurring economic growth.
Only one person is responsible for this disruptive mindset: Mr. Trump.
Although the wins for fiscal responsibility should be seen as baby steps in the context of our national debt crisis, they are indeed steps, and they give Americans reason to hope. Mr. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act contains the largest tax cuts and largest cut in mandatory spending in history and delivers real welfare reform to negate waste, fraud and abuse in these expensive programs.
The just-passed rescissions package targeting public television funding and foreign aid is the first set of White House rescissions agreed to by Congress since 1999. When solid decisions are made to confront the failed status quo in Washington, good things happen.
Look no further than the reports showing the federal government posted a $27 billion surplus in June. The word “surplus” hasn’t been heard in the halls of Congress in a very long time. This monthly surplus (the first of its kind in years) is a direct result of Mr. Trump’s innovative tariff policy.
The bottom line is that if career politicians in Washington had their way, tariffs and fair trade would still be dirty words and this progress would never have transpired. Perhaps most important, once the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is implemented and our nation’s enormous economic engine is firing on all cylinders, revenue will increase even further because new businesses will be created and more Americans will be employed, thus broadening the tax base.
Although this clear momentum toward fiscal sanity is a positive sign, it must be built upon until it becomes the “new normal.” Now comes the hard part. Republicans in Congress must focus on additional reconciliation bills that continue to promote economic opportunities for all Americans.
In a political situation where the Trump-hating Democratic Party is refusing to participate in the president’s great American comeback, reconciliation bills that don’t require a supermajority to pass in the Senate are absolute necessities. Because we are staring down the barrel of a $36-trillion-plus national debt, a single $9 billion rescissions bill won’t do the trick, so let’s not kid ourselves.
The Trump administration should consider submitting quarterly rescissions packages to Congress, something leaders on Capitol Hill should start conceptualizing now. Recurring rescissions coupled with a transparent appropriations process in Congress that acts on DOGE’s ongoing streamlining recommendations, along with economic growth, might be a prudent road map out of the fiscal abyss. The renewed dedication to regular order and fiscal responsibility that is taking hold in Congress should render continuing resolutions and omnibus heist bills things of the past.
Mr. Trump will never stop working to usher in the Golden Age of America, and he is proving in real time that success breeds success. So it’s imperative for Republicans in the House and Senate to stay united and continue to build on these early victories. Being remembered as the team that listened to the American people and worked together with our once-in-a-lifetime president to save the country is a wonderful thing to strive for.
David N. Bossie is the president of Citizens United. He served as a senior adviser to the Trump 2024 and 2020 campaigns. He served as deputy campaign manager for Donald J. Trump for President in 2016 and deputy executive director for the Trump transition team.