Rep. Gonzales says he’s ‘optimistic’ about Speaker Johnson’s leadership
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) said on Sunday he is optimistic about Republican governance over the coming year, saying the GOP is unified in passing a single reconciliation package and delivering on President-elect Trump’s “America first” agenda.
In an interview on NewsNation's "The Hill Sunday," Gonzales praised Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who was just reelected to his high-ranking post after receiving Trump's endorsement.
“The majority in the House is going to be razor thin. Here very soon, it's going to be 217 to 215. That means one member can change things,” Gonzales said in the interview. “But Mike Johnson is here to stay, and one of the reasons he's here to say is he's been able to work with President Trump to deliver that first America plan and agenda. And I'm very optimistic.”
Gonzales said that over the coming 15 days, Republicans will work together to craft a legislative package to deliver Trump's top priorities on "day one."
"For too long, we've talked about the problem, and we haven't solved the problem. And that's exactly what House Republicans are going to do under Mike Johnson's leadership. These next 15 days, we're going to go to work, and we're going to tee up … a package that's ready to go for President Trump on day one," he said.
On whether he thinks there's a chance the reconciliation package will be watered down because of the razor-thin margins, Gonzales said, "Members will argue over what color the sky is, right? So, of course, there's always going to be back and forth of, 'It's gone too far,' 'It hasn't gone far enough."
He said, however, that he's "very optimistic about next year," pointing to the success of Saturday's Republican conference meeting, which Gonzales said showcased Johnson's strong leadership skills.
“I think we're focused on one package, and that's what President Trump wants, ultimately, wants to get over the finish line. But I'd say this, look, it's hard enough to get members of Congress to show up on a Monday. To get them to show up on a Saturday takes an act of God in some cases. I was very optimistic.
“You got to give a lot of credit to Mike Johnson and his team. Yesterday, it was well attended. It was well organized. We actually got information out from it. We were unified… You have the majority of the conference was there on a Saturday, meeting with senators, essentially saying, hey, what do we have to do to tee it up so that way this America first agenda can get off the finish line on day one?”
Gonzales said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) was present at the meeting on Saturday and said he is confident that Thune is in line with Trump, just as Johnson is.
“I do. I do,” Gonzales said when asked whether Thune is “in lock step” with Trump. “For a couple of different reasons. One, I met with John Thune yesterday. Leader Thune yesterday. He had a lot of very insightful things to say. The way I view the world, Blake, is government should have a limited view, but an effective piece of our society. And I think John Thune views it the exact same way.”
“So, if we can have the House, the Senate and the presidency line up and deliver for the American people, that's why we won this mandate. That's why we won this. Is it going to be easy? No, of course not,” he said.
Gonzales added that the Senate has a three-seat majority and, therefore, has more breathing room to get things through.
“It's easier for them than us,” Gonzales said. “So, I think many things in the House are going to start. Thankfully we have Mike Johnson's leadership that's going to get us all together.”
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