Mike Johnson, House GOP leaders hold press conference

We can make sure that it is never forgotten. And we can make sure that families that they left behind and the men and women who continue to serve are supported in a real and meaningful way. And that commitment doesn't end when the uniform comes off. So in Utah, one of my constituents, Terry Scow, has continued to serve as a role model in the veterans advocacy. He was instrumental in reopening a state veterans house and office. He helped create four new veterans homes in the state and he even inspired his own sons to serve. He's making sure those who carried the burden of war don't have to carry it alone. That's what honoring service looks like. Not just remembering the fallen but standing with those who came home. And that's exactly what House Republicans are focused on. Last week, we pushed forward and passed the Milcon VA Appropriations Bill. The first bill of the fiscal year 2027 because taking care of our service members, veterans and their families should always be the first thing that we do. This week, we're continuing that work with common sense legislation to strengthen veterans benefits, protect those who served and deliver on promises we've made. Because this is what common sense leadership looks like. You honor sacrifice not just with words but with action. And that's where a clear contrast is. Our Republican priority will always be to be putting government ahead of Americans. Our priority is the American people, the American family, the working family, the veterans family, and the like. Bottom line, we will always stand for those who stood for us, not just on Memorial Day, but every single day. And with that, I hand it over to, out of the great state of Texas, Mr. Jake Elsie. Thank you, Blake. It's indeed an honor to be standing in front of you. I'm not worthy to be able to talk to you today on behalf of my fellow veterans and those who didn't come home, but I hope that my words honor them and their families. I spent 20 years in the world's finest Navy as a helicopter and fighter pilot. And then I got to serve here, one of only 11,000 Americans. It is indeed an honor to be talking to you today. As Blake said, we passed the milk on VA bill 415. So when you out in the audience today get to speak about what we do and don't do here, I want you to keep in mind that while there's clickbait out there all the time about how divided we are, understand this one thing, that Americans come together. I don't know who the 15 were who decided to vote no on this bill, but 400 Americans in the House of Representatives, Republican and Democrat, chose to honor and serve our veterans. $900 million going to advance medical care, $2 billion going to improving our facilities in the VA. Second Amendment rights for our veterans in there, 400 to 15, we do good work in here. Also, as Blake mentioned, we got a bill on Thursday and Friday addressing benefits for survivors and veterans Second Amendment rights. But since we are on a Memorial Day, I would be remiss if I didn't mention to you as we go about our business every day and we've got a weekend coming ahead of us that is full of joy and sales. I want to point out a couple of people. When I deployed with Morgan Luttrell, my brother, in Iraq in 2006, I was with Team 5 as a JTAC. This young man right here, Clark Schwedler, I'm reminded of him every day and I hope to honor his service how I conduct myself up here, I wear him on my wrist. I chose this picture because Clark Schwedler didn't have anybody but that dog. He had his parents, but he lost his life, gave his life for both the Iraqis and the American people on April 6 of 2007. He didn't get to come home. I chose the dog picture because he brought that back, his teammates brought that back to him and his parents got to keep that dog. But I want you to say his name either loudly or quietly to yourself, Clark Schwedler, because that's what Memorial Day is about. On the same operation on April 6, Mike Day got shot 27 times, 27 times, 16 to the body, 11 in his plates. The plates fell off as they took him off. He got knocked out by a grenade. He came back, but he didn't come home. And in 2023, he took his own life. So I just want to point out that when we're talking about what this week is about, over a million Americans have given their lives so you and I can go about life, so that I can watch my son play baseball and play catch with him. So I can take my daughter to go see her next school, next college, and so that I can come home from very difficult weeks here and hold my wife. Keep in your minds, say their names, keep them in your memories on this Memorial Day. I yield to Tom Emmer. Thank you, Jake. Too often, we forget the price of freedom. It is thanks to the bravery and sacrifice of the men and women in our military that we get to wake up each day in the greatest country on the face of the planet. That's why House Republicans are committed to delivering for our nation's veterans, their families, and their surviving spouses who've made the ultimate sacrifice. This week, as you've heard, we're going to vote on two bills that will do just that. American heroes and their families should not have to worry about making ends meet. Congressman Tom Barrett's HR 6047 is a much-needed, long-overdue expansion of benefits for severely disabled veterans and veterans' surviving spouses. Sadly, they have not seen an increase in benefits in over 20 years, even as the cost of living has continued to go up. This is unacceptable. This week, House Republicans will right this wrong, ensuring that no veteran or veteran's family gets left behind. House Republicans will also vote on the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, led by VA Committee Chairman Mike Bost. It's simple. Veterans deserve the same constitutional rights as every other American. Right now, veterans who get help managing their benefits can be stripped of their Second Amendment rights by Washington bureaucrats. Washington bureaucrats, no judge, no due process, no court ruling. This isn't just insane, it's anti-American, and it's an affront to the Constitution. Thankfully, Chairman Bost's bill will protect the Second Amendment rights of our nation's veterans by restoring due process. It's common sense, it's constitutional, and it's time to get it done. As we approach Memorial Day, a time for our nation to remember the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. House Republicans are proud to stand with our veterans and their families, because they so bravely stood for us. And with that, I turn it over to our leader, Steve Scalise. Thank you, Whip. And I really want to thank my colleague and dear friend Jake Elsey for those warm words and really kind of reminded everybody what Memorial Day is really all about, why we pause to pay tribute to those men and women, especially who gave their lives, who did not come home. And obviously, you know some of them served with them. And it wears even heavier on your heart, but it wears on all of us. And so we remember them, we will say prayers for their family. But we're also taking action. And the bills, as the Whip mentioned, that we're bringing to the floor, Chairman Bost's committee, the Veterans Affairs Committee, is dedicated to making sure that we're properly taking care of our men and women in uniform, but especially those who don't make it back. And the fact that the survivor benefits have not been adjusted for decades is an embarrassment. And we correct that oversight that has gone on for way too long by bringing that up to where it needs to be to help those families who don't have their loved ones with them, but still have bills to pay, have kids to raise. And that's an important bill, the Second Amendment, protections of all people who should have those. It surely should be those who fought to defend the rights that we have. They surely should not have less rights than American citizens who did not participate in our military. And so that bill at least gives them equity and parity to make sure that our veterans are not treated less than every other American citizen when it comes to Second Amendment rights. We're bringing a number of other bills, too. Of course, we're waiting on the Senate to finish the reconciliation bill. They are going to go through the vote around midnight. Hopefully, they get it all wrapped up by tomorrow. We stand ready to move as soon as the Senate is finished. And we've adjusted our schedule to be here longer for that. The housing bill that we're going to be voting on today is really, really important to lower housing costs for all American families. This is a bill that French Hill, the Financial Services Committee, did incredible work on to make sure we got the policy right. Clearly, there were some differences between the House and Senate. You see many of those problems were addressed in the changes in the amendments that Chairman Hill is bringing forward in the bill that is on the suspension calendar today. I think you're going to see a very strong vote, which shows that all of us want to see lower housing costs. But we need to change laws. We need to simplify some of the laws so that we can lower those housing costs. This is something that every American in this country is going to be happy to see, to have lower housing costs. And then one of the bills you're going to be able to watch a really interesting vote on tomorrow is the Women's Museum. We're bringing a National Women's Museum. Shouldn't be controversy at all, except for the fact that the Democrat Women's Caucus has now come out against a women's museum. And you would ask why that doesn't make any sense, and it doesn't. But it shows you how crazy the other side is right now, and how void of common sense the Democrats are. There is one condition that is in that bill that they took objection to. Now you think about it. Everybody for years had been asking for a women's museum to be created. And in the creation of it, they said, the only people that can be honored in a women's museum are biological women. And because that word biological women is in there, every Democrat woman came out against the bill. So let's see how they explain that to people back home, who would say, what world are you living in where you don't want to pay tribute to women? And we're gonna have that vote anyway. But it shows you how far their party has strayed. You saw that vote last week on law enforcement week. A week, again, pay tribute to our men and women in uniform who keep our community safe. The police, a lot of them were up here from all over the country. We had a resolution by Zach Nunn to pay tribute to our men and women in law enforcement. Unbelievable that 86% of Democrats voted against that resolution. So when people go back home and say they support the men and women in blue, you don't support them when you vote no on a resolution that pays tribute to our men and women in uniform. So the defund the police movement is alive and well in the Democrat Party. When 86% of Democrats last week voted against cops, it was disgusting to watch. But I think police and anybody who supports men and women in uniform all across the country were watching that vote. One more example, the sharp contrast between Republicans moving common sense legislation and Democrats going off the deep end of crazy, totally void of common sense. With that, the Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. Thank you, Mr. Leader. I wanna talk a little bit about what's ahead of us, but wanted to just take a moment to reflect on something that just happened. It was on Sunday a few days ago. We had the Rededicate 250 event on the National Mall. It was really an extraordinary thing. Many thousands of Americans came out to participate in that historic event. It was a welcome opportunity to recommit ourselves to the cause that our founders fought and died for 250 years ago. And sadly, too many young Americans are no longer taught the moral and religious foundations of our extraordinary country. And that is the source of our greatness, the reason we became the most free, most successful, most powerful, most benevolent nation in the history of the world. But evidently, some of the mainstream media missed all that history lesson as well. And I just wanted to comment. It was brought to my attention yesterday that MSNOW, formerly MSNBC, mocked me in a big segment they had. And the reason they mocked me was because in my remarks, I led the prayer of rededication on the Mall. I stated the self-evident truth that our rights do not derive from government. They derive from our creator. And they had this entire segment about how ridiculous that was, and what a crazy notion, and isn't Johnson such a crazy fundamentalist, etc. The best part is that was literally quoting from the Declaration of Independence. So let me take this opportunity. I want to just direct my friends in the mainstream media to the second paragraph of our nation's birth certificate, the Declaration, which remains the most foundational and consequential sentence in all of American history. We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. They're endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, among those rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness. It shouldn't be too much to ask that the people who talk about politics on TV, on a network that millions of Americans tune into, have a basic understanding of America's political foundations. I hope this serves as a friendly reminder to every American that the best civic education is not from your favorite TV anchor or late night host, okay? It comes from our founding documents. You ought to go read the Declaration, and the Constitution, and the Federalist Papers, and the other foundational texts that shape and guide our country. As we approach the 250th birthday of the greatest nation in history, I encourage all of us to revisit those founding documents. It's really important. The founders believed that in order to keep a constitutional republic, to maintain the republic, you had to have an informed and engaged electorate. The people, a government of, by, and for the people ourselves. The people have to be engaged. They have to know basic civics. They've got to know their foundations. Quite clearly, we need that review. At least some of the media do, okay? All right, regarding this week on reconciliation, on housing, on Women's Museum, etc., we've got a very consequential week ahead of us here. There's a lot going on, as you know, and the leadership team's covered it here. Republicans are still on track to complete the reconciliation process on time by the June 1 deadline that we set. And Leader Scalise talked about that. We're going to fully fund immigration enforcement and border security in our reconciliation bill. Again, it's worthy of note. That is rather a shocking proposition. The Democrats don't want to have anything to do. Think of it. They don't want to give $1, one penny, to border enforcement, border security, and immigration enforcement. So sadly, we've got to do that ourselves. We don't yet know exactly what form that bill will take, because it's still going through the parliamentary process there and working through the committees and the floor vote. But we'll process it as soon as we get it, and we're anxiously awaiting it in the House. We expect that that's going to happen here by Thursday. That's the hope. House Republicans also voting this week on that bipartisan bill to lower the cost of housing for working families. And we worked really hard on that, and it has been bipartisan. Increased housing costs and lack of quality supply are two issues that impact nearly every American family. And the House will vote tomorrow on a strong bipartisan package that will put more American families into homes. It's going to increase the supply, and it's going to make it easier for local banks to deploy capital in their own communities. And all those things are going to help with the cost of living, help with affordability. It's going to be a big thing for the people. The House and Senate remain closely aligned on getting the best possible product to the president's desk, and we'll do that in very short order. On the Women's History Museum, I'll just say we're going to take that up. Nicole Malliotakis, representative from Staten Island, worked very hard on this and drawn a big coalition of people. I think it has almost maybe 270, 280 co-sponsors at this point. The Smithsonian American Women's History Museum. Now, Nicole and others have done a lot of good faith work for years on this. 230 bipartisan co-sponsors is the actual number right now. But suddenly, in spite of that, Democrats are all backing out. And you heard Leader Scalise talk about this. It's just an incredible thing. Why are they backing out? Simply because the bill reinforces an objective truth that a museum for women, get ready, should showcase only women. Okay, that's the concept that got them all riled up. Here's the language of the common sense amendment that was added to the bill that made all the Democrats run for the hills. Quote, the museum shall be dedicated to preserving, researching, and presenting the history, achievements, and lived experiences of biological women in the United States. The addition of the word biological made them all run for the hills. I mean, if that's controversial in Democratic Party, we're in serious trouble. The party that purports to support women, demanding that the museum include biological men. The Democrats may be okay ceding control of their party to the most radical far left people in the country, but Republicans are not going to be any party to that. We're not going to stand for it. And neither are the overwhelming majority of Americans who still believe in common sense. Finally, Memorial Day, I'm so grateful for Jake Ellsley, our colleague. He was a top gun pilot. He looks the part, doesn't he? Straight out of Central Casting. He's got the great voice and all that. But the fact that he comes up here and speaks from the heart and talks about all those who served and paid the ultimate sacrifice is a really serious thing. And I want to, we give credit where credit's due. And I want to thank our Republican House Chairman Mike Bost and Representative Tom Barrett worked on these two bills that will safeguard the constitutional rights of American veterans and deliver meaningful relief to Gold Star families. At a time when the world faces grave threats, not the least of which include Iran, the largest state sponsor of terror. Every one of us is keenly aware that American strength and freedom are not free. And they're paid for by the selfless service of military personnel who serve our nation every single day. And we're reminded of that fact. We're going to pause to remember those and their families, those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom. We benefit from their heroic work every day and we should never take that for granted. Real quick word on the primary results last night. That's the big political news, of course. Last night, just in a nutshell, I talked with the president late last night after everything was, all the dust was settling over all the elections. And we talked about how his endorsement is the most powerful in the history of politics. I mean, anywhere in the world. I think it's just a phenomenon. I wasn't involved in the Kentucky primary, Thomas Massey's primary. The leadership team wasn't because he's an incumbent. But the president certainly made his opinion known. And I'm not surprised by the results there. The president knows what's at stake in this fall's elections. And he and I need conservative patriots here ready to help us continue saving America. And that's why we're working hand in hand to defend and grow this House Republican majority. I'm convinced we're going to do that. I'm thrilled about three more of our endorsed candidates who are going to do just that. They advanced last night. Ralph Alvarado in Kentucky, Houston Gaines, and Jim Kingston in the state of Georgia. All three of those are going to be great members next year as we defend and grow this majority. And at the same time, this is what's really important for everybody to be paying attention to. There's an effect happening around the country. And you all have heard me summarize it this way. The best way to describe it in short summary is that there are many Mamdanis popping up all around the country running for Congress as Marxists, openly as socialist Marxists. And it's a race to the far, far, far left. And as we say all the time, this is not our father's Democratic Party. This group has been taken over. I mean, Democratic Party's been totally taken over by the far left. And Hakeem Jeffries and the team here can't do anything about it. In fact, Republicans are the only ones that can stop them from destroying our country. And that's why we must and we will win. But they continue to nominate some extremely radical candidates last night. Even people, there's a candidate in Pennsylvania stolen from his own family. And he won the primary on Democrat side. They're gonna lose these swing districts. And in summary, I'll just, we'll go to questions. But in summary, this is what it boils down to. You heard the leader say it. You've heard all of us say this over and over and over. This is a contrast election, okay? And at the end of the day, the American people have to just look at this. It's contrast between common sense and crazy. We're gonna ask the people. I mean, as all of our candidates and our incumbents are out in the field, they're just, ask the questions. Do you wanna keep the team in charge who secured the border, got dangerous criminal illegal aliens out of your communities and brought down crime, that got American energy dominance going again, that returned us to peace through strength, that has put all the conditions in the economy to make your life better and bring down the cost of living and higher paychecks and higher tax refunds and got men out of women's sports and little girls' locker rooms and into trans surgeries on minors? Do you wanna keep that team, that party in charge of Washington? Or do you wanna turn it over to the people that wanna do the opposite of all those things I just described? It's a serious contrast. It's a serious, serious chasm, a widening chasm between the two parties that didn't exist here even 20, 30 years ago. But this is where we are. And you gotta keep America on track and that's what this election is about. Okay, a few questions, yeah, for sure. With Matthews to be yesterday, Cassidy over the weekend, possibly John Cornyn next week, is the message for Republicans that you have to be in lockstep with the president or you will face a coup? And also, given the amount of money that was spent in Haiti, that is likely going to be spent in Texas and elsewhere, is that a wise choice to use all that money against Republicans The message is that we're advancing America's first agenda, the America First agenda. It's about bringing the country back. And America is back. And that's because we've been running an agenda, again, based on common sense that achieves so many of those things I just said and more. We need people here who understand that, who are not trying to carve out their own lane and do something that's destructive or counterproductive, I think, to the agenda. And that's what's happened. I mean, that's the message. We have gone out very careful with candidate recruitment to recruit patriots, people who are selfless, many veterans who are coming in to serve, people who have been accomplished in their community, done things selflessly, servant leadership in their community. They've been accomplished state legislators or local legislators and accomplished business persons. We have an incredible array of people. The one thing they all have in common, they're not monolithic. They don't agree on every issue, but they believe in the core principles of our party. What is the Republican Party? What is American conservatism? What is the Republican Party? It's individual freedom, limited government, the rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets and human dignity. I don't ask much more of anybody, but you got to hold the core principles that made us the greatest nation in the history of the world. I never ask anybody to violate a core principle, but you have to give up on some of your personal preferences because you're in a deliberative body and you have 434 colleagues, other people. So that's the message. It's nothing more than that. The president has the strongest endorsement in the history of politics, as I mentioned, but we don't demand loyalty to the president. What I demand as Speaker of the House is loyalty to our core principles, the principles of our party, which are the principles of America, and that's where we're standing for. Jay. Understanding that the Senate is going through its process of reconciliation and we don't know what's going to happen with this billion dollars for Secret Service, and understanding that only a fraction of it is to protect the new ball. With that stipulated, what do you want to see happen here? And if it doesn't end up in this bill, are you going to do a supplemental for Secret Service? Because they said they need money regardless of what happens. Well, look, funding for Secret Service is essential. The president has now survived a third assassination attempt in just a few years. We're obviously in a heightened threat environment. This is a different time than it's ever been. And so we need all of our law enforcement adequately funded, certainly Homeland Security, and certainly Secret Service. So we'll look at that. I don't yet know, as I said, I don't know what will be included in the second reconciliation bill, the final details of it. We should know that in a few hours and we'll process what we get and then we'll look at the next issues. I mean, what they're asking for to harden the security at the White House and elsewhere to make sure that Secret Service can protect the president, the vice president, and the executive branch officers is a critical function. That's not a partisan thing at all. I mean, everybody has to acknowledge it's necessary and important and we'll figure out how to make it happen. Mr. Speaker, would you be okay if January 6th rioters, the ones who were convicted, even some of the ones who attacked the police, had access to this taxpayer dollars, taxpayer dollars, this $1.8 billion in settlement that the DOJ has created, the settlement fund. Would you be okay if they had access to that money? We don't know any of the details of that settlement fund. The acting Attorney General, Todd Blanche, testified yesterday. He gave a lot of detail and I'll just defer to what he said because he obviously knows a lot more about it than I do. He said, let me tell you what he said. He said they are setting up a fund to compensate all Americans who have been the subject, the target of lawfare or weaponization of the federal government. Again, that's not a partisan proposition either. Everybody should support that. He did not say who will be eligible. There's many details to be filled out on that and I'm not gonna comment on it until that, I'm not gonna comment on that until it comes out. Yes, ma'am. The Congressman, Tom Keene, has not been seen or heard from by the public for months. Does he owe his constituents transparency? And for your purpose, are you able to pass partisan legislation like this? Yeah, look, I talked to Tom, it's been a few weeks ago now, on the phone and he sounded good and optimistic and we're expecting him back here soon. He's had a medical issue and he's gonna be fully transparent and disclose all that. I mean, that's what he told me. But I don't even know the details and I have to respect that. It's a member's personal privacy on whatever matters they're dealing with. But we expect to have him back soon. We've missed him. He's a great member of Congress. He'll get reelected because he comes from a long history, a legacy in his family of faithful public service. Things happen to people individually in their health and otherwise and they deal with challenges and they get right back. That's what champions do. Tom Keene is one of them. Proud to stand with him. He's gonna get reelected and we look forward to welcoming him back here very soon. Thank y'all. Appreciate it.