House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-LA, has promised to pursue “transformative” and wide-ranging legislation in the event that former President Donald Trump regains control of the White House. This is a lofty goal but one that could be achieved as Democrats battle to maintain their Senate majority while President Joe Biden remains in power.

Johnson told Semafor in an interview on Wednesday that the two are in regular contact and that Johnson has already hinted about “legacy-defining legislation” early in a second Trump administration if Trump wins in November.

Johnson said, “I told [Johnson] that I believed he could be the most significant president of the modern age if we focused on a policy-driven administration and Congress. That’s what our intention is.”

Speaker Johnson said that he had spoken to GOP members about a “whole-of-government” approach, if Republicans are able to maintain their razor thin majority in the House of Representatives and flip the Senate by 2024. Johnson stated that up to nine committee chairmen are already preparing “transformational wish lists” early on. The speaker promised “that there’ll be lots of development in those policies over the next few weeks.”

Johnson stated that the goal was to create a budget which could bypass the Senate filibuster, and pass other bills strictly across party boundaries — a feat Johnson had not been able to accomplish for several pieces legislation in this Congress because of pushback from the hard-liners within the Republican Conference.

Johnson had promised to work hard to achieve the Republican majority when he took over the Speakership last year after the removal of Kevin McCarthy.

Many hardliners, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, and members of the House Freedom Caucus have spent most of 2024 criticizing Johnson for bringing bills like Ukraine aid, spending agreement, and Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act renewing through with many Democratic votes.

Johnson will use the lessons he has learned from his time in Congress and those he has gained since Trump’s first administration to concentrate on “larger-scope” measures.

Johnson told Semafor, “We don’t wish to repeat the mistakes we have made in the past.” In the past, and especially in 2017, we Republicans took a one-subject approach in reconciling. We completed one round of healthcare and tax reform. We’re looking ahead to [fiscal 2020], and we want a larger scope and multiple issues to be addressed in addition to the expiration date of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

It remains to be determined what exactly the “transformational legislation” will contain. The outlet estimates that the renewal of tax cuts that were passed by Trump and will expire in 2025 would cost trillions. Other measures are likely to address energy production and border safety, which have been hot topics for House Republicans during the Biden administration.

Johnson has already taken steps to promote Trump’s agenda at the House. Johnson held a presser with Trump at Mar-a-Lago in the middle of Greene’s motion to vacate.

Johnson, along with other GOP legislators, unveiled the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act on the same day he survived the House’s vote to table the motion. The act would prevent non-citizens voting in federal elections.

The National Voter Registration Act of 1994 would be amended to require that people provide proof of their citizenship before they can register to vote. There are federal laws that require citizens swearing under penalty of perjury to be citizens, and that they provide proof of their identity. However, some Republicans argue that these laws are not strict enough.

Johnson didn’t go as far as to state that any other legislation would reverse Democratic policies. Johnson did not say that the Inflation Reduction Act would be repealed in its entirety. This climate and tax law passed by Biden attracted much criticism from GOP legislators.

Obamacare, which Trump has been wishing to repeal for years after failing to do so last year, may also not be touched immediately.

Johnson added that the healthcare system “desperately needs innovation and change”.

Biden’s White House has already criticized any Republican attempts to “fast track” tax breaks until they stabilize in 2025. They argue that it is part a “MAGAnomics agenda which would trigger an “inflation bomb” and increase costs for middle class families.

Andrew Bates, senior deputy press secretary, said that President Biden believed the economy did not need an inflation bomb. Instead, he fought to have the largest corporations and billionaires contribute their fair share in order to reduce the deficit and cut taxes for middle class families.

Bates continued, “Even though America has been able to combat the global inflation which arose after the pandemic more effectively than any other major economy, the big corporations use it as an excuse for taking advantage of the people and charging artificially high prices.” “President Biden will not stand for this, or tax giveaways to these same companies.”

Johnson’s ambitious agenda will be hampered by the strict rule of reconciliatory legislation, which demands that all bills focus primarily on tax and spending policies. The Senate parliamentarian said that Democrats couldn’t use reconciliation, for example, to pass immigration reform.

Johnson, however, said that he remains “optimistic,” predicting that GOP plans, such as the Secure the Border act, will be successful. He stated that Republicans will not “present novel, untested theories” to parliamentarians in the last hours and are already working on their proposals to ensure they meet criteria.

Johnson stated that “a lot of it has to do communication and coordination. We’ve learned many lessons on both fronts along the way.” When you have an historically small majority, as we do now, these are essential components for building consensus. We’ve already started that process.