LIVE: House Republicans Speak After Leadership Elections

Hey, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, Joe Buccino with House Conference. So we're going to hold the press conference, obviously, which is what we're kind of waiting on here. Once the Republican Policy Committee chair election is complete, the seven. Elects will come out here. Thank you, Peter. We'll have three remarks from Minority Leader-elect Jim Jordan, Minority Whip-elect Tom Emmer, and then House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain. There'll be no questions. They'll each make a speech, and then they will depart the area. Okay? Thanks. It's happening now. They still have to get through the remaining four elections. So the speaking order is here on the podium. If anybody's... I mean, based on the timing, I would say an hour and a half. I think it's going to be more than an hour. More than an hour. When I think we're, I'll tell you what, when I think we're 30 minutes out. He didn't say exactly how long. Hey, so we still have the four remaining. Remaining elections to get through, so if you anticipate the amount of time it's taken thus far, I think it'll be between 40 minutes and an hour and 15 minutes from now. When I think we're 30 minutes out, I'll come back out here, okay? Thank you. All right, and then the speaking order, if you're interested, is up here. And again, I'm sorry, just no questions. We'll have three remarks and then depart the area. All right, thank you. Yeah. It's going to be Jim Jordan, Tom Emmer, and then Lisa McClain, and then they're going to each give brief statements. They're not going to take any questions and then they're immediate. And he'll give us a heads up when they're getting closer, too, so if you want to send out like a little advisory on the presser, you can do that for me. Perfect. No problem. Okay. Sounds like they're just coming around. It looks like it. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Thank you. Okay, is that better? Move it that way? Okay. Move it this way? All right. Thank you. All right. Thank you. Yep, that is the question. Thank you. All right. Okay, so let's do it. Thank you. Thank you. Can you hear here? Are you here? Okay, and they'll be speaking. Thank you very much. Testing, one, two, three. Thank you, Audrey. You're going to adjust that. We need tape. Okay. Try that. Cool. Good job. Testing, one, two, three. All right. Yeah. Thank you. I'm starting to speak now. Let me get yours. Thank you. Can I see it? I bet they collected them all. It says USA Today. Do you want to bring that here? You can come back, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then . Well, that was . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thank you. Thank you. I will test it. . . I will test it. . I will test it. . I will test it. . I will test it. . I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. . I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I will test it. I'm going to announce it in about half an hour. Hi. Yes. Thank you very much. Thank So, yes, me too, Les. you Yeah, fair very enough, much. nice. And then I saw you guys had them in the morning. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Do you want to record that, Liz? Thank you. We know who the top contenders are. Thank you. Oh my gosh. I know. It hurts so bad. I don't know how I'm gonna do this. Uh... I'm reporting $11 online right now. It's been right at the top of the hour. Testing 1, 2, 3, testing 1, 2, 3, testing 1, 2, 3, testing 1. one, two, three, testing, one, two, three, testing, one, two, three. Are you, tell me if you want me to do another sound check. All of us can speak. All right. I'm going to survive life with me and the minority. I've already eaten two bananas. I'm at the bottom now. I'm trying to pull up my... My news script hasn't come in yet. I'm thinking maybe there's a chance that this... No, you're good. Sorry. Thank you. I don't know. Okay. Yep. Okay. Three, two, one. After a bruising midterm defeat, three, two, one. Testing, testing. One. After suffering a bruising, three, two, one, testing, testing, testing, testing, testing. Thank you, Christine. Three, two, one. One. After suffering a bruising midterm defeat, House Republicans have chosen a different direction, handing Jim Jordan a victory over Steve Scalise in a vote 106-73, with Tom Emmer and Lisa McClain helping navigate life in the minority. Now, Jordan's victory signals a shift in direction after Republicans lost the House, a founding member of the Conservative Freedom Caucus, I guess, I don't know, just look to it over and see what I'm trying to do. This is not great. Hold on one second. Let me just digest. Thank you. 106 to 73. Thank you. Okay. Three, two, one. After a bruising midterm defeat, House Republicans have changed direction, handing Jim Jordan a victory, 106-73, over Steve Scalise, with Lisa McClain and Tom Emmer helping navigate life in the minority. Jordan's victory signals a shift in direction after Republicans lost the House. A founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Jordan built his reputation, taking on Democrats from the Judiciary Committee. Now he's preparing to go on the offense as Democrats gear up to investigate the Trump administration. Tom Emmer has secured the number two leadership job, defeating Texas Congressman August Pfluger, the Republican whip. Emmer will help Jordan keep Republicans united on key votes. As the party adjusts to life in the minority. And Lisa McClain has won the race for conference chair, defeating Erin Houchin and Greg Stubbe. McClain told me earlier that she was Switzerland. McClain told me earlier she was Switzerland during Scalise's showdown. Now she'll help shape the Republican message as the party looks to regroup. The question now is... Yeah, that's what I love. The question now is, the question now is, can this new team turn a Republican defeat into, okay, the question now, can this new team turn a Republican defeat, a midterm defeat, sorry, the question now, can this new team turn a Republican defeat into a, let me come back, my brain is dead right now. Yeah, this is what you do. The question now is, can this new team turn a midterm defeat into a Republican comeback? I'm Kilmeny Ducart reporting from Capitol Hill for Newsmax. Looks like a head nod, just in case, head nod, head nod. Thank you. Done. I'm just sending head nods just in case now at the end because you never know. Testing, testing. Hey. Thank All right. you. Testing, testing. Just give me the rough, right? Thank you. I'm starting to speak Okay, sorry, they want to talk to me. now. Hello. Hello. I don't hear anything yet, but it'll probably do, I'm sure. Sure. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes. Okay, cool. Thanks. Thank you all. Thanks. Is somebody calling us? Thank you. Yup, I got you guys, yeah. Thank Yup, one, two, three, four, five. Thank you very much. you Hey Seth! How's it going? How's it going? very I can, I can if you want to back tag. much. We had, Andy and I had divided on those, but I'm happy to talk about it, I can. How about, you want me to just conclude my report with it, or start at the top with it? Thank you. I mean I've been angled on just the house braces but if you want me to talk about it I can. Yeah that'd be cool that that would actually be cool because then it'll like look better as a back tag with Greta and then she can talk to the side. I like that it's cleaner. Thank you very much. No, I'm talking about, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what I'm saying. You have read a backtrack, my report, with the student update. Yeah, I think that's cleaner. Yes. Amen. Yes. Thank you. All right, thank you, everybody. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It seems to me that it's going to be a little bit of a delay. I think it's going to be a little bit of a delay. I think it's going to be a little bit of a delay. Can you see that? Is it? All right. I can probably tell what happens with this girl tonight. All right. Oh, what's she saying? Thank you. No, I think it's not like this. Thank you. Thank you. I don't know if I can go live in one minute. Thank you. Thank you. You're just jealous and can't do that, okay? What do you mean? Something like that. Right? Absolutely. Yeah. Do it. Do it. Hold on. Bonnie would be upset if you didn't see this. Yeah. Come on. Here we go. Stand by. What if the press conference starts right now? Okay. Copy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. It could be roughly 20 minutes or so. Yeah, Greta, good to be with you. The results from this secret ballot are in right now, and after a bruising midterm defeat, as you mentioned, their House Republicans are shifting directions and they're reshuffling Right now, Jim Jordan being handed a victory 106 to 73 over Steve Scalise and Tom Emmer, Lisa McClain will be joining him navigating life in the minority. Now, certainly Jordan was chosen as somebody who could go on the offensive and certainly a fighter. And that, of course, is a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Jordan has built his reputation, taking on Democrats. In his role on the Judiciary Committee, now he's preparing to go on the offense as Democrats and gear up for their investigation into the Trump administration. Then you had Tom Emmer, who secured the number two leadership job. Defeating Texas Congressman August Pfluger for Republican Whip, Emmer will help Jordan keep Republicans united on key votes as the party again adjusts to life in the minority. Then Lisa McClain has won the race for conference chair, defeating Erin Houchin and Greg Dubey. McClain told me earlier that she was Switzerland when it came to the Jordan-Skiles showdown. Now she'll help shape the Republican message as the party looks to regroup here. Certainly one of the biggest questions here. Test, test, test. Okay. But it's connected. Okay. All right. 20 minutes. About 20 minutes. 20 minutes. We heard first from Jim Jordan as Minority Leader, then from Tom Emmer, and then followed by Lisa McClain. They'll give brief statements, no questions from reporters. Then really quickly, Greta, on the Senate side, you had Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune, retaining his position, albeit after some delays. And calls for, again, the ballot to be postponed over on the Senate side. He will be minority leader in this next conference. Thank you, guys. Wonderful. I am excited. I don't think this is getting to the point where we're out of time. I'll be there. Yeah. 100%. He just told me 20 minutes. But, yeah, when it gets closer, I'll flag you. Okay, no worries. Thanks, guys. Okay, I got it, I got it now. Well, the The new leadership team will be coming out here shortly. They're wrapping everything up in there. And it was a great day for the House Republican Conference. I'm really excited for our team. Thank you. It's a great slate of candidates, and some extraordinary people were elected. Jim Jordan will be the new Republican leader going into the 120th Congress. I'll finish this up as speaker, wrapping up the assignment all the way through January until the new Congress takes their oath of office January 3rd. Jim and I go back a long ways, and so do Steve Scalise and I. I regard both of these men as more than colleagues and friends. They're brothers to me. Jim was a mentor of mine when I first came to Congress 10 years ago, and we worked alongside one another all these years. Thank you. His right-hand man in Judiciary before I was elevated to be Speaker of the House, and, of course, he ran for Speaker the first time, and he's always been regarded as a leader by the conference, and he's going to do an extraordinary job. So there's good feelings in there. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan will both tell you that they are also very close friends and brothers, and it was good feelings all around that this conference, this Republican team, is ready for the fight, Right, and they are encouraged, they are... Unified, and I'm very excited about the days ahead. We have a lot of work to do. The Democrats who will be taken over in the majority, I fear, are going to run a very harmful agenda for the American people. I think they're going to do retribution. I think they're going to spend endless hours and all the time in Congress investigating people that are political foes, and that does not serve the American people. They're going to do absolutely nothing to bring down cost or help on affordability or anything that they claim to be running on. That's my prediction. I hope I'm wrong. But I think that's where we're headed. Now, we've got a lot more work to do to wrap up and complete the 119th Congress and to do it well. There's a lot of big agenda items that are still out there. And we're going to work around the clock here. I certainly will and everyone on the House side to get our job done. And we hope that particularly, let me be specific, Democrats in the Senate. We'll assist in moving some of the big legislation that is there. You might have seen my comments yesterday, and we tabulated as of when we came back after the election. We passed, in this Congress, the Republicans leading the House, we passed 1,000 measures across the House floor. 1,000 bills are over there in the Senate, and almost 700 of them. I think the numbers, around 680 to be precise, are stacked in the hopper, as we call it. They're just stacked up in the Senate awaiting action. And some of those are big, important things. I think that's one of the things. You know, big bills that have always traditionally been bipartisan. And Democrats in the Senate refuse to do their job. They refuse to move, allow the legislation to move to the floor because the majority the Republicans had was a small one. They didn't want to give the president a win. They didn't want to give Republicans a win. Going into the election, and that's a real shame because they did not serve the American people. So we'll see what they're going to allow to go through. We are willing to work with anyone in good faith to get those important measures over the line and to finish this Congress strong. I'm really hopeful that we'll do that. What's your advice to Jim Jordan about keeping this? Sometimes often very divided conference together and how much more difficult will that be when Republicans are in the minority? Well, I talked to Jim about that a lot and we just spoke in the back of the auditorium here today about that. I think this group will be unified. It is in a sense, I mean, you all know politics on Capitol Hill. It is easier to keep a group together when you're in the minority. It just is because you're opposing the legislative agenda typically of the majority party. And there will be a lot to oppose in the upcoming. Congress with these Democrats in charge. So in a way, the job in that way is a little less complicated. When you have a small margin and you're in the majority and you're expected to run an aggressive legislative agenda as we did, that is a complicated thing because you've got to keep everybody there and keep them on board and get them to yes. And we did that. You know, I mentioned yesterday in my remarks is in spite of the razor-thin margin that we had in most of this Congress Congress, in spite of the fact that we had a Just historic levels of obstruction by the Democrats, as I mentioned. They shut the government down, remember, three times. They had the two longest shutdowns in U.S. history, 120 days in total. They tried to obstruct everything we were doing, and yet we had this incredible record of achievement in the 119th Congress. Largest tax cut in U.S. history for working and middle-class earners. We had the largest spending cut in history, cutting fraud, waste, and abuse, and inefficient government. We brought in, you know, we brought back... Peace through strength and American energy dominance. We secured the border tight. All the big issues in 2024, we checked the boxes. We added one million private sector jobs in the economy. We brought about the lowest poverty rate in the history of that data being recorded. We have the safest American streets, the lowest violent crime rate we've had in 126 years. The most secure border in, I think, a half century. We have Trump accounts for newborns. reshoring of manufacturing for the U.S., made in the U.S.A., is a thing again. We cut all the taxes on tips and overtime and save seniors taxes on Social Security. I mean, it just goes on and on and on, and we have a lot that we're very proud of. The biggest decline in prescription drug costs in 60 years. I mean, that's because elections have consequences. That's because we ran on promises, and we kept those promises. And it wasn't enough in this election cycle. But there's ebbs and flows in politics in America. It will swing back our way, I think, very quickly, because you're going to see the contrast that we were talking about on the campaign trail, the contrast between common sense and crazy. And I think you're going to see a crazy set of circumstances and legislative agenda with the Democrats in charge. What does your election of Jim Gordon say about the lessons you all learned from last week's election? I think the election of Jim Jordan is a sign of the members' confidence in him. I mean, both of these candidates got big packs of support. But Jim is a known entity, a trusted voice, a trusted leader. He's an honest broker. He's a good man, and he's a fighter. And I think that that's the signal that is being sent here, that they're ready. We are ready to dig in for the fight, and I think Jim's going to do a great job with that. What was the biggest learning curve for you when you became Speaker that you would think that Jim will probably have the same issue, or what advice would you give to him? Well, I think the dynamics will be different this time. I mean, I inherited the gavel in an unprecedented circumstance. I mean, there had never been a Speaker removed from the office mid-Congress in the history of the institution before, so there was no playbook. People ask me all the time, what was it like? I say, it was like being elected mayor of a town that had been hit by a nuclear bomb, honestly. Like, you know, and then they go here, congratulations, Mr. Mayor, go get the water running. Well, wait, the pipes are gone. You know, I mean, that's, we had to rebuild it. So my experience was probably different than anybody before. Jim knows how to do this. Jim Jordan knows how to do it. He's been around a long time. He's been a leader a long time. He's led caucuses. He's been a chairman of two major committees, Oversight and Judiciary. That will be a particularly helpful experience for him to have in the season that we are about to enter with Lawfare on Steroids from the Democrats. I think he's going to do very, very well. And, you know, he was originally, as I mentioned, one of my mentors when I came to Congress. So I have high confidence that he'll be able to do this well. Do you see Jim Jordan's way here because he was not a member of the committee? No. Jim and I have been close from the day I got to Congress. Thank you, Congress. We're one and the same in that regard. And I used to seek his counsel all the time and then vice versa, and he was a big part of what we did in the 119th Congress. We would not have been able to deliver all the wins we did if he and I were not united on that. So, no, I don't think anybody sees it. No one in that room sees it that way, nor does he or I. I'm not going to tell you how I voted. I told you they're both my brothers. But I will say Jim's going to do an extraordinary job. It just occurred to me. Now, that's a crying shame, I'll tell you that. He says no more Southerners in leadership. But these are, it's a good group. I'm very confident in this leadership group. I love them all. We don't see things regionally in our conference. They're all my dear friends, and I trust this group. I think they're going to lead well, and they're going to show the country that Republicans are going to stand by the core principles of America. And to me, at the end of this... That's what this is all about. I mean, we are defending the founding principles of the greatest nation in the history of the world. And it's not even close. We're the most free, most successful, most powerful, most benevolent nation that has ever been. But you cannot take those foundations for granted. We will not always be the greatest nation if we do not defend those principles that made us who we are. And I am concerned that in today's Democrat Party, there is a rising number of people who have disdain for the founding principles of America. And they have a very different idea for what America should be. And so that is going to be the contest in the days ahead. Are we going to go down a dark, dangerous road to socialism and communism, which is a deadly road? Remember, Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto. He used socialism and communism interchangeably because he said that socialism was a step to get to communism, which he called utopia. They believed that was the perfect society, and we know that's a dangerous fool's errand because every single time that's been attempted in history, it has led to human suffering and poverty and misery and even death. And the communists responsible for the murder of tens of millions of innocent people in the 20th century alone, it is un-American, it is anti-American, and as long as we're here, the Republican Party will stand for what is American. We're going to defend those principles against anyone who tries to tear them down. So that's the showdown coming for the 120th Congress, so buckle up. Nice. Thank you. MS. This is young seagull. Yes. Do you've got your seatbelt? Yes. MS. Yes. Good afternoon. I'm going to ask you about your seatbelt. For your seatbelt. Yes. Well, look, I think it's a sign of the strength of the candidates, MS. Please, you have to see your seatbelt. One moment. and I don't think you've read too much into that, This is your seatbelt. Yes. but those leaders are tried and tested and true, MS. Yes. and it is my great delight now to yield Did you talk to her? Did you see your seatbelt? Yes. the podium to your new Republican leader, MS. Did you speak to her? Yes. Mr. Jim Jordan, and the team over here. Jim, come on in. You're welcome. Yeah. Not at all. Over the next two years, House Republicans will fight for American families. When Democrats offer more government, we'll offer more freedom, and we will bring that fight in committee. On the floor and on the stump every single day. I want to thank my colleagues for their support. And I want to introduce our current whip and next Congress's whip, the gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Tom Emmer. Today is not a day for celebrating. We lost last Tuesday, and I take it personally, as do my colleagues. I fought for these seats as the NRCC chair and worked like hell to keep them as the majority whip. We're going to do it again. Over the next two years, we will regain the trust and confidence of the American people so we can build back our majority in 2028. To our colleagues on the left, enjoy this honeymoon phase because come January 3rd, 2027, you will regret ever putting your name on a ballot. House Republicans will hold each and every Democrat accountable for every vote cast, every committee hearing held, and every sentence said on MSDNC. This Republican leadership team will expose the Democrats' lies and show the American people their true colors as the radical communists that they are. We will expose every empty promise that they made to voters. We will expose Democrats' economic agenda that will make housing, food, gas, and health care more expensive. We will expose the Democrats' sanctuary state open border policies, all that will make our communities less safe. Not only will we ensure the American people know who these people really are, but House Republicans will put forth an agenda that speaks directly to the American people. Policies that actually lower the price of goods, increase wages, create affordable housing and give every American the opportunity to build their American dream. With this House Republican team, I am confident we will win back the trust and confidence of the American people in short order. We will undo the damage and chaos caused by these radicals and we will retake the majority in 2028. And those of you who are smiling right now, remember we told you this back in 2018. As we were going into 2019, and nobody thought we could, and we did. We are going to do it again. I want to thank my colleagues for trusting me, and I look forward to getting to work with this new leadership team, Jim. And with that, I turn it over to our current conference chair and incoming conference chair, Lisa McClain from Michigan. Thank you. I'm honored that my colleagues have placed their trust in me to continue to serve as the Republican House Conference Chair. I want to take a moment to introduce you to some new faces behind me. First of all, we have our Secretary Mark Alford. We have Brian Jack, who will chair the NRCC. We have Jay Obernolte, who will still be our Policy Chair. Blake Moore, who will still I'll continue to serve as my vice chair. And you all know our current speaker, who we love dearly, Mr. Mike Johnson. We had a splintered, spirited leadership election. There were important conversations about the future of our conference. And I listened, I heard the concerns raised by members, and I intend to act on them. Now that the election is behind us, we are one conference. And we have one mission. To earn back the trust of the American people and take back this house. We have seven weeks before the next Congress begins and we cannot waste one single day. Democrats may have the majority, but we must and we will go on offense day one. We're going to hold Democrats accountable. We're going to challenge their policies, and we're going to give American families a compelling reason to put Republicans back in charge. Democrats have already made their priorities clear, and it's not affordability. Remember, that's what they ran on? The first thing they said was, lawyer up. Tell me how lawyering up helps anybody with affordability. Right? Watch their actions, not their words. They're going to be focused on going after President Trump. We are going to be focused on improving the quality of life for every American. We have the opportunity to show the American people what Republicans stand for, what we're fighting for, and why we deserve their trust. That is our mission, and that work starts today. Thank you very much. Thank you Thank very you for much. flagging that. I enjoyed that. All right, I'll see you around. Thank you. All right.