Speaker Mike Johnson rejected concerns that the "big, beautiful bill" will add to the federal deficit. He called deficit forecasts from the Congressional Budget Office "dramatically overstated." The sweeping package narrowly passed the House last week and now heads to the Senate.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), a fiscal hawk who has openly criticized House Republicans' reconciliation bill, predicted Sunday that there are enough in his flock to stop the process "until the president gets serious about spending reduction and reducing the deficit.

The following is the transcript of an interview with House Speaker Mike Johnson, Republican of Louisiana, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on May 25, 2025.

House Speaker Mike Johnson defends the "One Big, Beautiful" budget reconciliation bill from criticism by Senate Republican budget hawks during an interview on CNN. "They don't account for the growth that will be fostered by all the policies that are in this big piece of legislation,

Work requirements — better understood as benefit limits for the unemployed — are the centerpiece of Medicaid and food benefit cuts Republicans are using to offset part of the cost of tax cuts at the heart of their so-called “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Work requirements were the core of a 1996 welfare reform bill that Clinton signed into law.

President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” passed the House on Thursday after lawmakers wrestled with the legislation during an all-night session. The GOP spending bill now rests before a weary upper chamber as Medicaid reforms and deficit expansion remain concerns for Senate Republicans.

President Donald Trump’s one big, beautiful bill isn’t out of the woods yet, but it is closer to reaching his desk than ever before. There are many reasons for that, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) having a better handle on his small and fractious conference than many assume whenever these tough votes come up.

The speaker spent months keeping flare-ups from growing into a conflagration even Donald Trump couldn’t extinguish.