When Mike Johnson became Speaker of the House, plenty of people—including folks on our own side—wondered if the soft-spoken congressman from Louisiana had the political muscle to lead the most unruly majority in modern history. A slim House majority, factions more interested in picking fights than passing policy, and zero breathing room made the job look impossible.

And yet, somehow, Johnson just got it done.

The “Big, Beautiful Bill” passed this week with just two Republican no votes and one member reportedly asleep during the vote. Everyone else—from fiscal hawks to moderates to members of the SALT Caucus—came to the table and voted yes. That doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because of work. Quiet, diligent, behind-the-scenes work. The kind of work that Johnson has become known for.

READ MORE: The Big, Beautiful Bill Passes, Surviving Fractured GOP Caucus

Is the bill perfect? Absolutely not. It doesn’t cut nearly enough. It doesn’t do as much as we want on spending reform. Some numbers went up. Some went down. But taken in totality, by the time the bill’s provisions are fully in effect, there are good reforms and cuts in there. That’s not nothing.

And more importantly, the Trump tax cuts? They're not going to expire. Some pro-Second Amendment provisions even made it in. There are real wins here—even if they’re incremental.

Let’s do a quick comparison.

Kevin McCarthy traded away so much of his authority just to get the gavel, and once he had it, he couldn’t hold his caucus together. Paul Ryan took the job, passed the tax cuts, then noped out before he had to deal with anything else. John Boehner spent so much time fighting conservatives that he stacked the Republican Study Committee with his own loyalists to keep conservatives from disrupting his status quo.

Mike Johnson has done something none of them could manage: Get the different wings of the GOP caucus to work together. He didn’t seize power or hand out favors like candy. He didn’t threaten or cajole. He led. He brought people to the table. He let them be heard. And then he got the bill passed.

This is the closest the House GOP has come to operating like a unified governing body in years. We probably haven't seen the House GOP this effectively led since the 90s under Newt Gingrich. It’s not perfect, but it’s progress. And in this political environment, with this razor-thin majority, that’s worth applauding.

It's very true that we as conservatives did not get everything we wanted. Frankly, we probably got the least out of this deal. But we got something. And getting anything done with the margins we’re dealing with right now is a win.

I get the frustration. I share it. I want deeper cuts. I want real spending reform. I want bold action. But I also recognize reality. And the reality is that Speaker "Magic Mike" Johnson managed to do what many thought was impossible: He got the votes. He continues, in fact, to do the impossible and get his caucus to come together through meaningful negotiations.

He got the SALT caucus to agree to a one-year increase in the deduction cap. He got conservatives to hold their noses and support it. He got the moderates, the Main Street Republicans, and everyone in between to come together and pass a bill that contains real victories with no threats or public screaming matches. That’s leadership, something Republicans in Congress have gone without for far too long.

There will be critics who say this wasn’t enough. That Johnson caved. That he gave in to the moderates. I understand the frustration, but take a look around. The majority is razor-thin. The alternative was nothing getting done, economic instability growing, and the blame falling squarely on Republicans again.

This was a smart play. Johnson didn’t trade his power to get it. He didn’t sell out the base. He navigated the chaos and came out the other side with a win on the board. There will be time to push harder. There will be time to demand more. But for now, this is a rare moment when leadership, principle, and pragmatism actually aligned in Washington, D.C.

Let’s recognize it. Let’s encourage more of it. And let’s not forget the lesson here: Conservative wins, however small, are still possible.

If we have leaders willing to do the work, that is. And Mike Johnson just reminded us of that. Let's make sure we remember it going forward. And let's see if the Senate GOP is capable of similar.