President Donald Trump promises 'golden age of America' in speech to House Republicans
DORAL, Fl. – President Donald Trump took a victory lap in a speech before House Republicans Monday evening, touting the executive orders he signed during his first week in office and riffing on some of his favorite topics such as TikTok, immigration, crime and tariffs.
He claimed the United States is now a "meritocracy" after the elimination of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in the federal government. Birthright citizenship, he said, is "ridiculous" and "has to stop," per his recent executive order. He argued there are no more "horrible people that wanted to kill our country" attempting to enter the U.S. through Tijuana, Mexico since he issued orders cracking down on illegal immigration.
And he joked about running for a third term as president, which has been unconstitutional since the 1950s, noting he didn't want to put House Speaker Mike Johnson in the middle of the issue.
"We've raised a lot of money for the next race," Trump said. "That, I assume, I can't use for myself because I think I'm not allowed to run again. I'm not sure. Am I allowed to run again, Mike? I better not get you involved in that argument."
Trump also touted Republicans' victory in the 2024 elections, saying they created a "political earthquake" by bringing Black, Hispanic and union voters into the party: "The Golden Age of America has officially begun."
Strategizing on how to pass legislation
Trump spoke to the lawmakers from the Trump National Doral hotel and golf club in Miami, where the lower chamber's Republicans are meeting to strategize how they'll pass the new president's legislative agenda.
"You all heard about the playbook we developed over the last year, now we're working out the final sequence of the plays," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters as he kicked off the retreat Monday afternoon.
Republicans want to pass policies strengthening security at the southern border, increasing domestic energy production, and extending the 2017 GOP tax package passed during Trump's first term, along with eliminating taxes on tips and other tax policy. They'll have to use a tool called "reconciliation" that allows them to pass it with a simple majority in the Senate, were 60 votes are typically needed.
"We don't want to get hung up on the budget process," Trump said. "The bottom line is going to be the same. We want to have all of those benefits and keep the taxes low."
But it likely won't be easy in the lower chamber. For the first few months of the administration, House Republicans will have only one vote to spare on any bill. That makes it easy for any member to derail legislation unless Democrats are also on board.
Democrats have "lousy policy," Trump said, "but they do stick together."
"We don't have the luxury" of allowing members to peel off on major votes, he said.
"Everything is so hard. You always have two or three or five or something, people that just don't want to do it," Trump said. "You just gotta do it. Make life easy."
Still, the task before lawmakers received passing attention in Trump's rambling remarks, which meandered from saying "China won't be involved" in the process of finding a new buyer for TikTok to comparing himself with gangster Al Capone: "Scarface was not investigated as much as your president was investigated," he said.
He spoke extensively about the benefits of tariffs, which he planned to impose against Colombia but held off on doing so after Colombian President Gustavo Petro agreed to "unrestricted acceptance" of Colombian migrants being deported from the U.S.
"We're going to protect our people and our businesses, and we're going to protect our country with tariffs," Trump said. "You got a little indication of that yesterday with what happened with a very strong country."
He said he plans to implement additional tariffs on steel, aluminum and copper and pledged not to cut "a single penny" from Medicare and Social Security. Both programs are headed for a funding shortfall, however, and Trump has not laid out a plan to increase their revenues.
House Republicans have other issues they need to tackle in addition to Trump's agenda that they plan to discuss during their retreat. Congress must fund the government by March 14, the next government shutdown deadline – leaving only six short weeks of session for lawmakers to iron out the details.
The federal government will also soon be on the brink of default, and Congress must raise the debt ceiling to avoid it. But it is always a politically challenging vote, as many Republicans are loathe to appear like they are increasing spending (even though raising the debt ceiling pays for things the federal government has already bought.)
They're considering conditioning California wildfire aid to the debt ceiling vote in an attempt to get Democrats on board and offset the Republican votes that will surely be lost. Johnson called it "a common sense notion that is supported by the vast majority of the American people." Democrats have said the plan is a non-starter.
Contributing: Francesca Chambers and Joey Garrison