Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said on Fox Business Wednesday that House Republicans are facing a crucial moment that could determine their political survival.
The National Republican Congressional Committee said 26 House Democrats are “vulnerable” in the 2026 midterms, giving Republicans a key opportunity to grow their slim majority in the chamber. During an appearance on “Kudlow,” Gingrich said the party must unite and finalize key legislative priorities by Independence Day if it hopes to maintain its majority in 2026.
“In my judgment, always, I’ve thought the drill date was July 4 to have a signing ceremony. And I think that they can probably do that,” Gingrich said.
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Gingrich praised several committee chairs, including Republican Kentucky Rep. Brett Guthrie and Republican Missouri Rep. Jason Smith, for leading what he said were productive negotiations, but he also said that the window for action is quickly closing.
“You know, Henry Kissinger told me one time that every major decision that he was involved in took 48 hours. That you weren’t quite sure when the 48 hours was going to occur, but when it came down to the crunch, it took 48 hours,” Gingrich said. “Sooner or later, the problems aren’t going to go away. We know what they are, and, I must say, I think that Chairman Guthrie, for example, Chairman Smith in the House, have really done a great job of bringing their teams together. I think you’re going to see an awful lot of conversations, and eventually over the next couple of weeks they’ll grind their way to a solution.”
Guthrie chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, while Smith chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.
Gingrich said if Republicans fail to deliver meaningful legislative wins then they risk losing their House majority in 2026.
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“This is life and death for the House Republican Party because they have to have a strong economy in 2026 if they’re going to have a chance to keep their majority. If we have a bad economy next year, Republicans will not keep the House,” Gingrich added. “So the Senate doesn’t feel the same pressure, which is unfortunate.”
Gingrich also pointed out the importance of President Donald Trump’s involvement and said that the president must secure GOP control of both chambers to implement his second-term agenda.
“I think from the standpoint of President Trump it’s very clear that he has to have a Republican House and Senate if he’s going to make the last two years of his term successful. He doesn’t want to get back to a Nancy Pelosi environment where the Democrats in the House try to screw everything up. So I think that what Speaker Johnson is trying to do is get done as early as possible in the House to put maximum pressure on the Senate, get it to conference,” Gingrich said.
On policy specifics, Gingrich highlighted Medicaid reform as a key sticking point but said polling from his group, America’s New Majority Project, showed that voters are open to commonsense changes.
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“I think there will come a point once they clearly understand what’s going to be in the bill and once they’ve solved the Medicaid problem. And, frankly, I’ve looked at Medicaid for many, many years. And at America’s New Majority Project, we’ve done a ton of polling on Medicaid. People will accept, for example, having a work requirement. People will accept getting rid of the crooks,” Gingrich said. “People will accept not having illegal immigrants getting paid. There are a number of things you can do that are legitimate that not only don’t hurt people on Medicaid, but if you do it right, you can actually probably improve for doctors by getting rid of the 2% annual cut. You can probably help specific groups that really need help a lot.”
Trump and Republican lawmakers have consistently pledged not to cut Social Security and Medicaid. The president has even proposed eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits, a move aimed at solidifying voter trust ahead of the next election. Meanwhile, Democrats are facing internal divisions as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries clash over how to handle the Republican-led government funding bill. With no clear leader emerging and several House seats in jeopardy, the party appears adrift heading into the next election cycle.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
