While Congress knows that it's "got to pull together" to pass President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful" budget bill, former Rep. Jack Kingston, R-Ga., told Newsmax on Monday that the president's slipping approval ratings on the economy in many polls "could be the difference-maker" in terms of actually getting it done.
"Right now, you're only judging him on what's going on with tariffs and it's work in progress," Kingston said on "Wake Up America." "They're going to get to a good stable relationship with all these trading partners, but, right now, we're in the middle of that operation, if you will.
"Secondly, right behind it are these tax cuts to make sure that the American people have the hard-earned money that they have and not the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C. That's going to be part of it, as is less regulations on businesses that have been killing jobs and more domestic energy production, which is bringing down the gas prices at the pump.
"Keep in mind that already we're seeing inflation stabilize and down under President Trump. The price of eggs, for a very specific example, have come down."
He added the need for everyone to pull together.
"Congress knows that they've got to pull together for this and they may have to be working 15 hours a day to get it done," he continued. "They're used to that. They have that ability. There's going to be five committee markups to move this bill forward this week and then another six next week.
"I spoke to [House Speaker] Mike Johnson over the break and I can tell you he's absolutely committed. And one other thing, not only that, but he's been talking to [Senate Majority Leader] John Thune about it almost daily, as well as the White House, so all three of the key players – the Senate, the House and the White House – are all together on this."
Commenting on the timeline for the president's priority legislation, Kingston said that he's "an optimist" and thinks "it's got to be on [Trump's] desk" by Memorial Day.
"The reason why is you want the legislation to pass, but you also want to have the effects of it in the marketplace for the American families to enjoy the prosperity," he said. "And the sooner this is done, the more stability that you have and the more prosperous we become."
The former Georgia congressman was also critical of the sit-in Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., conducted on the Capitol steps on Sunday, saying they should spend their time coming up with better ideas than the Republicans.
"Number one, the First Amendment says that people's right to assemble, it's a good thing and people have the right to do sit-ins," he said. "Another way you could affect public policy is to run for office and put out some ideas. Oh, wait a minute, they have that opportunity."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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