| It was a riveting conversation, to say the least, and the speaker set the tone in his opening remarks with this declaration: “I am absolutely convinced America is coming back!” We agree! Speaker Johnson clearly understands the stakes in keeping the Trump tax cuts from expiring at the end of the year. I’m going to quote him at length, because he nails it. “If you reduce taxes and regulations, you allow job creators, entrepreneurs, risk-takers, and the people that create jobs to do more of what they do. You unleash the power of the U.S. economy that has been smothered for too long. This is not theoretical. We did it in the first Trump administration. … We reduced taxes and reduced regulations. We had the greatest economy in the history of the world pre-Covid. … Every boat was rising. … We can get back to that. We know the formula.” A major part of that successful formula is the tax portion of the reconciliation bill. The speaker also addressed the need for Congress to move quickly to pass that bill, a theme you’ve heard me bang on about for some time. The speaker hit the nail on the head: “The reason we have to do [taxes] early in the process and not wait until the end of the year or later is that everybody needs to see the effects of that, like, ASAP. Putting that clarity in is critical.” Indeed, businesses big and small are planning now for what they are going to do next year in terms of new investment, hiring, etc. As long as the tax outcome is unknown, businesses are going to hold off, and that uncertainty will slow down the economy. So, speed and clarity are critical. As I’ve said before, there are many obstacles to passing this bill, including an extraordinarily slim Republican margin in the House. Yet Speaker Johnson was pretty darn optimistic that Congress could get a “big, beautiful bill” to the president’s desk before summer. And if he can make that happen, it would truly be a legislative feat for the ages. But Speaker Johnson was clear that a necessary ingredient for a successful outcome is the role that grassroots Americans can play. In other words, he wants your help. When asked specifically how Americans for Prosperity and its grassroots activists can help, the speaker said: “I have AFP tattooed on my back! Look, this organization does it better than anybody, and I mean that sincerely. … The grassroots component of this is critical. Let your elected representatives in Washington know how you feel about it.” AFP is already out there, having launched a $20 million campaign solely to prevent the Trump tax cuts from dying. AFP and its grassroots army will share information on how the Trump tax cuts spurred economic growth while countering misinformation that claims the benefits were only for the wealthy. Take action today by following Speaker Johnson’s advice — reach out to your elected representatives and make your voice heard on renewing the Trump tax cuts. | 
