House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sought to temper expectations for President Donald Trump’s economic agenda, suggesting that implementing the White House’s blueprint for expanding affordability could take some time to kick in.
Johnson said the Biden administration orchestrated policies that he blamed on lingering inflation, arguing during a recent interview that “we the people rightfully revolted against that, and gave us [Republicans] the power again in January.”
However, the speaker added a cautionary note in his remarks to Fox News Digital, as pressure builds on the White House to produce tangible results on the economy swiftly.
“The economy is a very complex thing; you don’t flip a switch and just change it all in one week,” he said. “It takes a while.”
Johnson’s remarks come as Democrats have increasingly favored messaging on affordability ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, accusing the Trump administration of failing to sufficiently assuage voter concerns about the economy.
The House speaker said in the interview on Friday that relief is coming, but it will likely begin sometime next year, when provisions outlined in Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act start taking effect.
“By the time we get into the first and second quarter of next year, as Treasury Secretary [Scott] Bessent has said, we should have an economic boom because of all of these pieces will be coming into play,” Johnson said. “Taxes will be lower, no tax on tips and overtime, lower taxes on seniors. And then there’ll be more investment because we have all the pro-growth policies and tax policies that will allow the job creators, entrepreneurs, risk-takers, innovators to do what they do.”
“Everything I just described will happen in due time, and it will,” he added. “So we’re very bullish about it.”
Democrats have attempted to capitalize on affordability matters in recent elections, using the topic to try to spur momentum in future campaigns.
In New York City, Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani secured victory after building a sweeping movement focused on cost-of-living concerns.
In response, Trump has tried to frame the GOP as the “party of affordability,” arguing that Democrats created an economic crisis during the Biden years and that his White House is “relentlessly” focused on resolving concerns.
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“Affordable” should be “our word, not theirs,” Trump said during a speech last week at McDonald’s Impact Summit. He added that his administration has it “down to a low level, but we’re going to get it a little bit lower.”
“We want perfection,” Trump said. “Because the Democrats got up and took affordability, affordability, and they don’t say that they had the worst inflation in history, the highest energy prices in history. Everything was the worst. What they’re great at is lying. They say affordability. This stuff was all much more expensive.”