Have you grown tired of the winning yet? Especially after the past week?

Yesterday, the media narrative on the House was "Republicans in disarray!" Today, Speaker Mike Johnson and Donald Trump corralled their caucus to pass a renegotiated budget plan that will allow Trump's tax cuts and spending reductions to pass through reconciliation:

The House on Thursday narrowly adopted a Republican budget blueprint for slashing taxes and government spending, after hard-line conservatives concerned that it would balloon the nation’s debt ended a revolt that had threatened to derail President Trump’s domestic agenda.

Approval of the plan, which was in doubt until nearly the very end, was a victory for Republican leaders and Mr. Trump. It allowed them to move forward with crafting major legislation to enact a huge tax cut, financed with deep reductions in spending on federal programs, and pushing it through Congress over Democratic opposition.

The Freedom Caucus balked yesterday after seeing the Senate version, which barely trimmed spending at all. Trump and Johnson conferred with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and hammered out an agreement to get at least $1.5 trillion in reductions, although it's not clear what time scale that uses:

About a dozen House conservatives ultimately flipped their opposition after receiving assurances from leaders that the Senate would pursue $1.5 trillion in savings, at a minimum. 

"Our two chambers are directly aligned," House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said before the vote. "We're committed to finding at least $1.5 trillion in savings for the American people while also preserving our essential programs." 

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, echoed that the Senate is "aligned with the House in terms of what their budget resolution outlined in terms of savings."

There's another problem here, which is where those savings will be found. House Republicans wanted to shrink Medicaid after its expansion under ObamaCare and the COVID-19 pandemic, but Senate Republicans are balking at that idea. It may mean that Senate Republicans will get a lot friendlier with Elon Musk and DOGE to dig up reductions in other programs and departments instead.

How actively did Trump have to whip House Republicans in the final vote? Not at all, Johnson insists:

TRUMP didn’t have to “call a single member” to pass the budget, @SpeakerJohnson said

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) April 10, 2025

Trump had scolded Freedom Caucus members for "grandstanding" earlier in the week, however. He also called the resolution a "phenomenal bill," making it clear that he expected a party-line level of support. The tax cuts mainly will consist of making the 2017 tax reforms permanent, as well as other reductions that Trump will need to balance out the effects of his tariffs, as well as unlocking funding for border security and other White House priorities. 

The message clearly got through, at least eventually. And this also bolsters the Republicans in presenting themselves as a real governing force, especially in contrast to the infighting that paralyzed the House at times in the last session. Trump's muscle-flexing and Johnson's diplomacy has kept the GOP from forming circular firing squads when it matters most, a remarkable achievement for both men dealing with a wafer-thin majority. They are scoring wins on difficult issues, with policies that formed their electoral arguments. 

That may change when reconciliation is no longer an option. But they may not need too many other wins if this reconciliation package delivers on the promises of Trump and Johnson.

Update: Chuck Schumer promises to "fight it tooth and nail, the whole thing":

🚨CHUCK SCHUMER: The Republican budget is AWFUL! pic.twitter.com/z2frMYFMIm

— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) April 10, 2025

There's not much that Schumer can do on reconciliation -- which he should know, having used it himself to push through Joe Biden's (?) massive Green New Deal spending, among other bills. (Classic rock reference in the headline explained here.)