“Mr. President, this is the gavel used to pass the ‘big, beautiful bill,’” House Speaker Mike Johnson said during a White House signing ceremony on the Fourth of July.
“I want you to have it,” he added.
President Donald Trump, seated at an outdoor desk, was clearly pleased as he took the gavel and gave it a few testing taps.
It was a striking moment on a historic day — a ceremonial gesture that honored the passage of a major Republican legislative priority. Yet beyond tradition, the scene also conveyed a deeper symbolism: a shift in political power from Congress to the executive branch, as a cooperative legislature continues to hand over more of its authority to the presidency.
