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- Republican lawmakers are weighing in on what actions the House must take now that it has elected a speaker — Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson.
- The members believe the House should immediately focus on the appropriations process to avoid another government shutdown, as well as supporting Israel and strengthening border security, they told the Daily Caller News Foundation following Johnson’s election.
- “It is time to get back to work putting an end to the myriad Democrat-created crises plaguing this country and its citizens,” Rep. Chip Roy of Texas told the DCNF.
House Republicans weighed in on what actions the lower chamber must immediately make following Louisiana Rep. Mike Johnson’s speaker election in statements to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Johnson, the House GOP’s fourth speaker nominee, secured the gavel after receiving unanimous Republican support during the vote. Republican lawmakers believe focusing on the spending bills, Israel and border security should be the House’s next steps now that Johnson is in power, they told the DCNF following the vote.
“You’re going to see an aggressive schedule in the days and weeks ahead,” Johnson said at a press conference following his election. “You’re going to see Congress working as hard as its ever worked and we’re going to deliver for the American people. I am grateful for this opportunity. I want to thank you for being patient with us and I promise you it’ll be worth it. God bless you, God bless you. Let’s go to work.”
The speaker-elect laid out a plan for the appropriations process in a Monday letter where he proposed bringing the Energy and Water spending bill to the floor for consideration this week. He also announced that the House will consider a resolution on supporting Israel following his election on Wednesday. (RELATED: Mike Johnson Wins Speakership On First Vote)
Johnson, who voted against the 47-day continuing resolution to temporarily fund the government through November, proposed bringing the final two spending bills out of the Appropriations Committee — Labor, HHS and Education and Commerce, Justice and Science, according to the letter. The speaker also called for creating a working group to focus on the Agriculture, Rural Development and Food and Drug Administration appropriations bill.
“As all of this is being completed, if another stopgap measure is needed to extend government funding beyond the November 17 deadline, I would propose a measure that expires on January 15 or April 15 (based on what can obtain Conference consensus), to ensure the Senate cannot jam the House with a Christmas omnibus,” Johnson wrote.
Rep. Chip Roy of Texas will hold Johnson “just as accountable” on securing his conservative priorities as he did former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, he told the DCNF following the vote.
“It is time to get back to work putting an end to the myriad Democrat-created crises plaguing this country and its citizens,” he said. “Our country is under siege from a wide open border, spending is out of control while inflation runs rampant, and our federal bureaucracy has been brazenly weaponized against everyday Americans. Our enemies are currently emboldened by a weak White House and a woke Pentagon, and our key ally, Israel, is under assault.”
WATCH: @RepMikeJohnson’s first press conference as the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. Follow me for more real-time coverage from the U.S. Capitol for The @DailyCaller NF. pic.twitter.com/WZpA85KqEQ
— Arjun Singh (@arjunswritings) October 25, 2023
New York Rep. Anthony D’Esposito commended Johnson for wanting to focus on the appropriations process immediately in comments to the DCNF.
“I think the appropriations needs to start right away and need to not waste any time and I think that was one of the probably the most promising parts of speaker Johnson’s remarks,” D’Esposito said. “Some people have said over the last couple of days that they’ve spent long days at the office, long days at work, what we’ve done the last few days was not work. What we need to do now is getting back to work for the American people. So I think, you know, obviously the Israel resolution is going to be within the hour. And then we’ve got to get right to the floor with appropriations and we need to keep and be committed to this message of unity and compromise. We can’t, we don’t, want to take steps backward.”
“So earlier this morning, the speaker laid out what he believes should be the legislative agenda with first their firm statement of commitment and partnership with Israel in light of the attacks by Hamas,” Rep. Marc Molinaro of New York told the DCNF. “He knows and is committed to moving forward with the appropriations process with a number of bills. Remember, I helped negotiate what was an appropriations process to move some of those single subject bills forward. And he recognizes that we’re going to need a little bit of breathing room too. So I suspect that we’re gonna be talking very quickly about what we can send the Senate to keep the government open while we move the appropriations process forward.”
Rep. George Santos of New York believes that supporting Israel via the House resolution should be the “first order of business,” he told the DCNF.
“We are not going to pass all appropriations bills. We’re going to have to do something to meet the Nov. 17 deadline,” Rep. Brett Guthrie of Kentucky told the DCNF. “We have got to keep the government from shutting down.”
Rep. Dan Newhouse of Washington echoed Guthrie’s sentiment and told the DCNF it’s “unlikely” the House can pass all of the appropriations bills to avoid a government shutdown in November. Conversely, Rep. Juan Ciscomani of Arizona insisted that the remaining legislation must be “passed by regular order,” he told the DCNF.
The congressman was the GOP conference’s fourth speaker nominee after House Majority Whip Tom Emmer and House Majority Leader Steve Scalise withdrew from the race before a floor vote and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan‘s bid failed after three rounds of voting.
Emmer won the nomination Tuesday afternoon against Johnson and numerous other Republicans, but later dropped out. Johnson then beat GOP Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida, Chuck Fleischmann of Tennessee, Mark Green of Tennessee and Roger Williams of Texas for the nomination just hours later.
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