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by Newt Gingrich

Congressional Republicans are working to pass special budget legislation as soon as President Donald J. Trump takes office. They must jump start his agenda without getting stopped by Senate Democrats.

They need to pass legislation to secure border and stop illegal immigration. And they must pass an economic-focused bill that cuts taxes and regulations to spur the economy.

Whichever strategy they choose, the economic growth bill must be signed into law by the Fourth of July. This is because the No. 1 challenge for President Trump and his administration is to keep Republican control of the House in 2026.

If Republicans can keep the House for four straight years, the Trump administration will get an enormous amount done, and the GOP will be set up for a presidential victory in 2028.

If the Democrats win the House in 2026, they will immediately invent a slew of nonsense investigations to undermine President Trump and the Republicans.

The House Republican majority is the smallest in modern history. My respect for Speaker Mike Johnson’s ability to patiently work with such a small margin is limitless. However, if the economy does not recover quickly, it will almost impossible for Republicans to keep the House.

We have been here before.

In 1981, President Ronald Reagan was talked into writing his three-year tax cut so the economic impact would not come until 1983. As a result, Republicans lost 26 House seats. In 1983, the economy took off and began growing at about 6 percent. It was fast enough to enable Reagan to carry 49 states in 1984.

In 2017, congressional Republicans wrote the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, but it did not immediately affect the economy in 2018. They lost 40 seats and control of the Congress. Democrats immediately moved to investigations, obstruction, and two impeachment efforts. The following year, the economy took off and grew dramatically (6.8 percent).

In both cases, if the tax cuts had gone into effect a year earlier and the economy had taken off, Republicans would have gained rather than lost seats.

The lesson of history is clear. President Trump and congressional Republicans must pass the economic growth bill and sign it into law by the Fourth of July. It’s the best way to create a reasonable opportunity to keep the House in 2026. It will be a hard fight in the off-year, but without economic growth it will be hopeless. If they fail, a Democratic House will be virtually guaranteed.

When I was Speaker, we passed two reconciliation bills in 1997: The Taxpayer Relief Act and the Balanced Budget Act. So, I know it is possible to do two reconciliation bills in one year.

Republicans can start both bills simultaneously in January. One team can focus on a Safe Borders and Controlled Immigration Act. The other team can focus on an Economic Growth and Affordability Act.

While the border bill is moving in the legislature, the grassroots movement for the economic growth bill can be developed.

The big, popular parts of the tax bill must be identified by the end of February. Then, grassroots campaigns must be launched to bring the American people together to pressure Congress to pass it.

Grassroots pressure from the voters can work even in polarized times. In 1981, Reagan’s televised appeals, his cabinet’s focus, and a grassroots effort led 46 Democrats in the House to vote for his tax cuts. Speaker Tip O’Neill complained of “a telephone blitz like this nation has never seen” and said it “had a devastating effect.”

In 1996, when I was Speaker, we passed the most consequential conservative social reform bill in our lifetime, the Welfare Reform Act. It was first proposed by then-gubernatorial candidate Ronald Reagan 30 years earlier in 1966. The American people were so decisively in favor of welfare reform that we split the Democrats 101-101.

Building a wave of popular support so great that Democrats must vote with Republicans takes time. That is why the grassroots campaign must begin by late February.

Senate Republicans who favor a two-bill strategy must be committed to passing the Economic Growth and Affordability Act by May 31. Then, the House and Senate will have all of June to conference the two versions and be ready for a signing ceremony by the Fourth of July.

Every day after the Fourth of July, it gets harder to jump start the economy and win the 2026 election for the House.

It is in President Trump’s deepest interest to get a commitment from the new Senate Republican majority to meet this schedule.

If the Senate will not agree to an accelerated schedule, then the two bills should be merged into one and pushed through in March or April.

This is the biggest single congressional decision President Trump and Republicans will face in 2025. It must be the highest legislative priority for the year.

For more commentary from Newt Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com. Also, subscribe to the Newt’s World podcast.