TUCSON, Ariz. — The near-universal view of Republican leaders is that they wasted a lot of time when Donald Trump became president nearly eight years ago.
They’re hell-bent on not doing that again.
“If we win the whole thing … we don’t want to be at odds like we were back at [2017] and burn the first four months, which we did. We didn’t deliver anything, surely, in the first 100 days,” said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, the chamber’s No. 2 Republican, in an interview here.
Scalise, unlike Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, was in the GOP leadership during Trump’s presidency. He had a front-row seat to the — how do we say this delicately — quirks of Trump-dominated Washington.
We spent two days with Scalise this week as he campaigned in south Texas and Arizona. We have lots of news from Scalise, which we’ll report throughout today.
As majority leader, Scalise is charged with executing the party’s agenda. He’s in charge of the committees. He runs the House floor.
And to put it bluntly, Scalise has the most experienced staff in the House Republican leadership, which will make him a critical cog in the GOP machinery on Capitol Hill if the party controls Washington come January.
But let’s say this very clearly upfront — there’s no guarantee that Trump will win the presidency or that Republicans will keep the House. Even Scalise said he was surprised by “how many [House] races are close” across the country.
“It’s 45 races that we’re tracking and involved in,” Scalise said as he left a tour of the border wall in Mission, Texas. “Almost every one of them [is] within the margin of error.”
But it’s clear that Scalise is already thinking in a very granular way about his party’s agenda should the GOP run the table on Election Day.
In the next Congress: Much of Scalise’s headspace seems to be dedicated to the looming tax fight — a legislative skirmish that will dominate Washington for the next several months.
Trump has made lots of promises on taxes. The former president wants to slash the corporate rate from 21% to 15% while also cutting taxes on Social Security, tips, overtime, car-loan interest and American citizens living abroad. He’s even toyed with the idea of slashing taxes for police officers and military veterans. Trump has also promised to fix the deduction cap for state-and-local taxes.
It’s up to Scalise and GOP congressional leaders to make at least some of these promises a reality — if they win.
Scalise told us that he intends to use a host of energy policies to help offset the cost of the tax cuts in a filibuster-proof reconciliation bill.
The Louisiana Republican said he’d seek to open the Arctic National Wildlife Reserve for oil drilling, in addition to expanding liquified natural gas exports, expediting leases and permits and reducing other rules and regulations that would, in his view, help generate new revenue for the federal government.
Scalise also said he’d seek to shrink federal agencies’ budgets to pre-Covid levels, which would recoup “tens of billions” of dollars that could then be reallocated to cutting taxes.
In addition, Scalise said the GOP would look to repeal the federal tax credit for electric vehicles.
Let’s be clear about something: Trump says a lot of things. He’s notorious for having a fleeting focus. And Republicans haven’t been the picture of legislative efficiency during the last few years.
The Trump factor: There’s something to remember about Trump. He’s a complete wild card — and that extends to his legislative outlook. Capitol Hill baffled him during his presidency and he still doesn’t totally get the place. For example, Trump pushed for a government shutdown in September, even as Johnson begged him not to. Trump eventually relented.
The bully case — as articulated by Scalise and others — is that Trump is more familiar with the levers of power afforded to a president. Scalise understands what former leaders sometimes didn’t — that in Trump’s Washington, one man has the final word: Trump.
“If you’ve got a point you want to make, bring the data to [Trump] and lay it out. He’ll let you make your case at the end of it. He’s the guy that makes the decision. You just got to be with him,” Scalise said.
If Republicans lose the majority? That’s something that no House GOP leader wants to entertain. We’ve traveled with Johnson, Scalise and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) this month and all of them seem to believe — or say they do — that House Republicans will keep or even expand their majority.
But if Republicans lose the House, Jordan would almost certainly challenge Scalise for minority leader if Johnson stepped away.
Scalise said he isn’t worried about Jordan or any ambition the Ohio Republican may harbor:
