Just this past week the prc vessels acted dangerously and unlawfully as our philippine friends conducted a Routine Resupply Mission in that your own, their own exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea. I want to be clear, very clear, the United States defense commitment to the philippines is iron clad, is iron clad. Any attack on the filipino Aircraft Vessels or armed forces will invoke the Mutual Defense Treaty with the philippines. And mr. Prime minister, today we renewed our commitment to defend the values that are at the heart of this alliance. And we continue to stand as one to forge a Better Future for both of us and all the region. So, i want to thank you again for being here. Thank you for your partnership and your leadership in this critical moment. And i would like to now turn it over to you. Well, thank you very much, mr. President. Australia and the United States have stood together for more than a century and it is indeed a great honor for me to stand alongside my friend, President Biden here today. At the heart of our alliance, the enduring values that our people hold in common. Freedom and democracy. A belief in opportunity, determination to build a more prosperous and more peaceful world. Those values are timeless. And they have never mattered more than right now. Thats why the relationship between australia and the United States has never been more important, and it of course, it has never been stronger than it is right now. We Work Together to promote peace and security across the indopacific, to uphold the stability which is generated unprecedented Economic Opportunity for the nations and the people of our region. For australia, this is about investing in our capability and investing in our relationships. Today President Biden and i discussed the progress being made on australias acquisition of nuclearpowered conventionally armed submarines, which announce with the Prime Minister in san diego. Second time in history the United States has shared the technology and the fact speaks to the deep trust of our alliance and the significance of the challenge we face together. Australia appreciates the administrations efforts to operational occus and work with congress to pass the legislation needed to realize the ambitions and i appreciate your call for the legislation to be passed this year. Occus will drive innovation and cooperation to provide the United States australia and the United Kingdom to secure peace and stability in the indopacific. Our cooperation is already unlocking transformative opportunities for jobs and skills and research from virginia to south australia, to western australia. Australia and the u. S. Have a strong and growing partnership in new technology, from Medical Research to a. I. And i join President Biden in welcoming microsoft 5 billion additional investment in australia, announced this week here in washington. President and i agree innovation is vital to addressings the environmental challenge of climate change. And seizing the Economic Opportunities of clean energy. The Climate Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation compact that we signed in may in hiroshima is very much central to this. Climate change and clean Energy Becomes the third pillar of our alliance, alongside our security cooperation, and strong economic ties with the Free Trade Agreement between our nations. Compact lays the foundation for our two countries to advance climate and Clean Energy Action this decade, both at home and globally. Today we agreed new measures under the compact to support our energy transition, including the establishment of austrailia and u. S. Clean energy council, comprised of business and Public Finance leaders to advise government on Clean Energy Industry development and cooperation. We are working closely with the United States to build end to end sustainable, reliable and transparent Supply Chains for Critical Minerals. Of course australia has abundant supplies of the Critical Minerals that will drive our economies throughout this century. Lithium, cobalt, copper, rare earths. We want to connect that with american markets, investors and technology in a way that creates new jobs and opportunities for industry and workers in both of our nations. Cheaper, cleaner energy will reduce cost for households, but it will also power a new generation of manufacturing. Our alliance is also delivering for the indopacific region bilaterally and increasingly with our partners in the quad. Australia and america are supporting the connectivity of the region and today we announce the new funding for subsea cables in the pacific, further support for infrastructure development, including efforts to increase the pacific access to financing and Work Together through a new Pacific Banking Forum to ensure our friends in the pacific maintain access to the Global Financial system. Today we also discussed our joint position opposing russias illegal and immoral invasion of ukraine. Australia stands with ukraine. And President Biden welcomed the package of assistance. Provide ukraine with additional Military Assistance utilizing the Innovative Technology by australias Defense Industry partners. Last night and again today we spoke about the situation in israel and gaza. Australia condemns the terrorism of hamas. We grieve for the loss of every innocent life, whether its be israeli or palestinian. In times of crisis, respect for International Humanitarian law is paramount. It is a recognition of our common humanity, and i commend the president for his leadership, that he has shown in the example that he has set. Today i announced australia will provide additional 15 million in humanitarian assistance for civilians in gaza. Adds to the 10 million australia has already committed and will help deliver lifesaving assistance such as Emergency Water and medical services. The friendship between australia and the United States was forged in hard times. We have served and sacrificed together in the cause of peace. We have helped each other through natural disasters. Australians and americans share a rich history. But we always have our eye on the future. We are united by a determination to overcome the challenges that we face and we share an ambition to seize those opportunities which lay ahead of us. As is indeed an alliance in which we celebrate what we have achieved up to now, but we focus on the future, a future of great opportunities, one that is stronger because of this alliance. All right, well take a few questions now. Mr. Garrison, u. S. A. Today. Thank you mr. President and Prime Minister. Welcome to washington. I want to ask you about the conflict, war in the middle east. 24 u. S. Troops have been injured during ten drone or Rocket Attacks on bases in iraq and three in syria over the past week. Youve told iran to be careful as your administration tries to prevent the israelihamas war from expanding into a larger middle east conflict. Should the americans be worried the war is escalating and after that question one more followup, please. 1 or 2 more. Joey, look. We have had troops in the region since 9 11 to go after isis and prevent reemergence in both anyway, in the region. Having nothing to do with israel at all. My warning to the ayatollah was that if they continue to move against those troops we will respond. And he should be prepared. It has nothing to do with israel. Let me ask my followup here. I want to discuss here we go. Yeah, your conversations with Prime Minister netanyahu, who obviously youve known for decades, and you had a very emotional trip to israel. Have you sought assurances he will hold off on a Ground Invasion into gaza until the safe release of the hostages can be assured and of course those include ten unaccounted for americans. No. What i have indicated to him is that if thats possible to get these folks out safely, thats what he should do. Its their decision. But i did not demand it. I pointed out to him if its real, it should be done. Thank you. Arent these hostages in jeopardy if there is a Ground Invasion . You want to make a speech . Obviously they are in jeopardy. The question is, is there any way to get them out. If we can get them out, get them out. Prime minister albanese, and welcome again to washington. President biden canceled his may trip to australia because of Debt Ceiling Talks in congress to avoid a firstever default here in the u. S. Congressional action has stalled as House Republicans tried to pick a speaker. But it does appear they have elected congressman mike johnson from louisiana to the role. Are you worried the gridlock in washington will hold off the transfer of Nuclear Powered subs to australia as part of the occus agreement, and concerned that the dysfunction makes the u. S. Less reliable partner . I regard the United States as a very reliable partner and the relationship i have with the president second to none of the relationships i have around the world or indeed domestically for that matter. Its a relationship of trust and i think this visit symbolizes that. This is the ninth visit that ive had with President Biden, i got to meet President Biden when he was vice President Biden just next door some years ago. And im very confident in the discussions that ive had with democrats and republicans that there is very broad support for the arrangements and there will be support for the legislation Going Forward and i think that would be a very good thing. It is in the interest of australia, but its also in the interest of the United States. And everyone that i have spoken to, similarly in the United Kingdom, across the political spectrum, are all supportive of the occus arrangements. We we in australia have managed to get it, so get one question each. So yeah, good try. Channel 10 austrailia. You get em, jojo. President biden, just staying with occus, australias largest defense deal and the Prime Minister has gone all in. Can you give a personal guarantee you can get all the necessary legislation through congress and lock in this deal, eventually future proofing it before the end of this president ial term. You know anyone in the elected office gives a personal guarantee that happens . We would like you to try. I will try. Last week requested 3. 4 billion in supplemental funds to boost submarine production, and maintenance to meet u. S. Needs and also support that. Australia is making a significant, significant investment in the United States and the ability to produce submarines as part of this deal, and more importantly, its important that Congress Move quickly and the fact is that im confident that we can get this done because you when we put the deal together, response, democrats and republicans in the United States, the response around the free world was this is a very, very good thing. A very good thing. So the question is not if, but when, and jojo told us we got a new speaker, or likely have a new speaker, i hope thats true. Because we have to get moving. We have to get moving and so im confident that we are going to be able to get the money for it, because its in our interest. When i was asked when we put together the deal, i was asked by xi jinping were we just trying to surround china. I said no, we are not surrounding china, we are just making sure that the sea lanes remain open. Unilaterally be able to change the Rules Of The Road in terms of what constitute International Air space and water space, etc. , thats what this is all about, its about making sure we have a close, and in addition to the fact that we put together the quad, which they did not like. The quad is a very important piece as well. Its about maintaining stability, stability in a taiwan strait, the indian ocean, the whole that whole area. And i think its going to increase the prospects for longterm peace rather than anything else. I get that, i get ok. Pbs, miss lopez. Mr. President , thank you. If i may, i have a Breaking News Question and then an israel one. First, after 22 days, House Republicans just elected mike johnson of louisiana as speaker of the house. Johnson advocated Conspiracy Theories of Voting Machines and rigged election in 2020. Encouraged his colleagues to join a lawsuit to invalidate four states. If you win reelection in 2024, are you worried a speaker johnson would again attempt to overturn the election . No. Why not . Because look, just like i was not worried that the last guy would be able to overturn the election. They had about 60 lawsuits and went to the Supreme Court and every time they lost. I understand the constitution. And if i may very quickly, in the 18 days since hamas killed 1400 israelis, the hamas controlled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli Forces have killed over 6,000 palestinians, including 2700 children. Youve previously asked netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties. Do these numbers say to you that he is ignoring that message . What they say to me, i have no notion the palestinians are telling the truth about how many people are killed. Im sure innocents have been killed. And its the price of waging a war. I think we should be incredibly careful, i think, that we, israelis should be incredibly careful to focus on the folks that are propagating this war against israel. And its against their interest when that doesnt happen. But i have no confidence in the number that the palestinians are using. Prime minister albanese, you are travelling to china early next month. President biden has said china should expect extreme competition from the United States. Do you support extreme competition with china and what does that look like for you . Well, we have strategic competition in our region. Thats a fact that we are living with. The relationship with china is one where the principle that i bring to it is to cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, engage in our national interest. It is in australias interest, as well as china, but i believe in the global interest for us to have a relationship where there is dialogue, and hence i welcome the fact that i have been invited to china, ill be travelling at the same time as we will commemorate 50 years since the first visit by an australian Prime Minister to china in a short period of time now, and i think that is a positive thing. It is good that various senior representatives in the u. S. Administration have had meetings with their chinese counterparts in recent times, because dialogue is always a good thing. Through dialogue comes understanding, and comes a diffusion of tension. We want a peaceful and secure region but we want one as well thats based upon the rule of law and where national sovereignty, including issues such as the South China Sea and the right passage in pa important waterway there, the east china sea, taiwan straits is respected and that is australias position. We cooperate very much with the United States on those matters, and on others. But i look forward to a constructive dialogue when i visit shanghai and beijing. Extreme competition was not conflict. Read the whole paragraph. I talked about we are going to have we are going to compete with china on every way according to the international rules. Economically, politically and other ways. But not, im not looking for conflict. Jeff chambers. President biden has mentioned, the Prime Minister flies to beijing next saturday to meet the chinese president and premier. Your administration has raised deep concerns over a very long period of time about the Chinese Communist governments aggressive coercion and intimidation tactics, Maritime Claims in the South China Sea as we have seen with the situation with the philippines. State sponsored cyber attacks. Last week we heard from the spy chiefs talking about theft of intellectual property on industrial scale. And obviously human rights abuses. What do you make of chinas reengagement with australia . Can australia trust beijing, and can australia do business with china . Trust but verify is the phrase. And look, china is having their own internal and external difficulties right now. Chinas Economic Growth is stagnant compared to what it was. China has engaged in activities that russia and many other activities and others have engaged in in terms of intimidation and dealing with other countries. But the fact is that i have met with xi jinping more than any other world leader has. Over 68 hours of private meetings, he and i with simultaneous interpreters, starting back when i was Vice President because it was not appropriate for a president of the United States to be meeting with the Vice President , so i traveled 17,000 miles and subsequently in addition to that 68 hours ive also had another they tell me, they keep meticulous contact, another 12, 15 hours of discussions, just he and i. And i think that he is realizing that there are, for example, belton road initiative, we are going to compete on that. It has ended up dead in the noose for most of the people that signed on. We are working with our g7 partners to provide infrastructure for the very nations hes trying to deal with. For example, the g20, we were able to act on a proposal i had to build a railroad all the way from riyadh all the way through the middle east, saudi arabia, israel, up through greece, and then across, not the railroad, but pipeline across the mediterranean up into europe. Reliable partner in terms of when you say you are going to deliver something, the u. S. Not just me, i hope the United States is a reliable partner. It wasnt just the United States that agreed on that. Because look, even to this day when my discussions with with the saudis, and the crown prince, he wants to see a Reconciliation Take place. Its overwhelming in his interest. Its in saudis interest. The idea the nations in the middle east cooperating economically and politically changes the dynamics significantly. So i think that it is its something that is in everyones interest, including longterm in chinas interest. Prime minister as well. Have you had a chance to speak to benjamin netanyahu, i know theres been efforts made, obviously the president was there in israel last week. Are you still endeavoring to speak to the israeli Prime Minister . I am. I have spoken with the israeli ambassador on a number of occasions. We continue to we understand that obviously mr. Netanyahu has pressures on, which at the top of the list is not is not the discussion with the australian Prime Minister. We understand the pressures which are there, but we have a request for a call in. Thank you. Thank you, everybody. The Press Conference has now concluded. Thank you, everyone. John the president and the australian Prime Minister walking away, not answering shouted questions from the press. We want to right now, sandra, go to the house floor for mike johnson and his speech. Sandra lets listen. [cheering] thank you all. First a few words of gratitude. I want to thank Leader Jeffries. I do look forward to working with you on behalf of the American People. I know we see things from different Points Of View but in your heart you love and care about the country and want to do whats right. We are going to find Common Ground there, right. [applause] i want to express my great thanks for our speaker emeritus, kevin mccarthy. [applause] kevin has dedicated over two decades of his life to selfless public service, 16 of those years in this house. And you would be hard pressed to find anybody who loves this institution more or has contributed more to it. He is the reason we are in this majority today. [applause] his impact can never be overstated and i want to thank him for his leadership, his friendship, and the selfless sacrifice you and judy have made for so many years. You helped build it, kevin, we owe you a gratitude. I want to thank the beleaguered and overworked staff of this house. [applause] they accept praise so stoically. But miss susan cole, our House Reading clerk. Yes, yes. [cheering] listen, all the clerks and all the staff, they are terribly overworked, this has been a grueling process but they have served an integral role in keeping our republic and we thank them for that service. I know we all do. [applause] i want to thank my dedicated wife of almost 25 years, kelly. Shes not here, we could not get a flight in time. This happened sort of suddenly. [laughter] but we are going to celebrate soon. She spent the last couple of weeks on her knees in prayer to the lord and shes a little worn out. We all are. I want to thank our children, michael and hannah and abby and jack and will. All of our children sacrifice, all of them do and we know that, and theres not a lot of perks to being a member of congresss kid, right. And so i want to thank all your families as well for what they endure and have had to endure for the last few weeks. We have been here a while. Yeah. [applause] i want to thank my faithful mother, jeannie johnson, who bore me at the age of 17 and my Brothers Chris and josh and my sister laura and all their families and all of our extended family. In louisiana, family is a big deal and we got a bunch of them. Especially thank all the Extraordinary People of the great state of louisiana. We have never had a speaker of the house hail from our state and so they have been lifting us up. I thank the people of louisiana for the opportunity to serve you in congress and humbled by your continuous support. We will make you proud. To my colleagues, i want to thank you all for the trust you have instilled in me. To lead us in this historic and unprecedented moment that we are in. The challenge before us is great, but the time for action is now. And i will not let you down. [applause] i want to say to the American People on behalf of all of us here, we hear you, we know the challenges you are facing, we know that theres a lot going on in our country, domestically and abroad, and we are ready to get to work again to solve those problems, and we will. Our mission here is to serve well, to restore the peoples faith in this house, great and essential institution. My dad, mention my dad was a firefighter, Assistant Chief of the Fire Department in my hometown of shreveport, louisiana, on september 17, 1984, when i was 12 years old he was critically burned and permanently disabled in the line of duty. All i ever wanted to be when i grew up was the chief of the Fire Department in shreveport. But after the explosion on that fateful day he nearly died and it was a long road back and it changed all of our life trajectories. Im the oldest of four kids, and my dad lived with pain for decades more and i lost my dad to cancer three days before i got elected to congress, three days. And he wanted to be there at my Election Night so badly. Im the First College graduate in my family, this was a big deal to him, and several weeks after that, early 2017, my Freshman Term and it felt to me to be in the rostrum to serve here as speaker protem. I thought that was a big deal until i found out thats what you do to freshmen late at night. And memory serves, miss jackson lee was winding down one of her long eloquent speeches, and not that i was not en raptured by the speech but looked at the top of the chamber and saw the face of moses staring down. And i just felt in that moment the weight of this place, right. The history that is revered here and the future that we are called to forge. And i really was just kind of almost overwhelmed with emotion. It occurred to me in that moment, several weeks and i had not had an opportunity to grieve my dads passing and i just had this sense that somehow he knew, and i had tears come to my eyes and standing here and im wiping them away and suddenly occurs to me the late night cspan viewers are going to think something is very wrong with the new young congressman from louisiana. It was not sheilas speech, im sorry. I just knew in that moment that my dad, my father would be proud of me and i felt that he was. And i think all of our parents are proud what we are called to do here, all the American People at one time had great pride in this institution but right now thats in jeopardy. And we have a challenge before us right now to rebuild and restore that trust. This is a beautiful country. Its a beauty of america that allows a firefighters kid like me to come here and serve in this Sacred Chamber where great men and women have served before all of us and strived together to build and represerve what lincoln did refer to as the last best hope on earth. We stand in a dangerous time. The obvious, world is in turmoil. But a Strong America is good for the entire world. [applause] we are the beacon of freedom and must preserve this Grant Experiment in selfgovernance. Itself is. Only 247 years into the grand experiment and dont know how long it will last. We do know the founders told us to take good care of it. I want to tell all my colleagues here what i told the republicans in that room last night. I dont believe there are coincidences in a matter like this. I believe that scripture, the bible is very clear that god is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of us. And i believe that god is ordained and allowed each of us to be brought here for this specific moment and this time. My belief. I believe each one of us has a huge responsibility to use the gifts god has given us, to serve the Extraordinary People of this great country and they deserve it, and to ensure that our republic remains standing as the beacon of light and hope and freedom in a world that desperately needs it. [applause] it was in 1962, 1962 that our National MottoIn God We Trust was adorned here, and if you look at the guide they give tourists and constituents who come and visit the house, if you turn in there to about page 14 in the middle of that guide it tells you the history of this, and says very simply, these words were placed here above us, this motto was placed here as rebuke the cold war era philosophy of the soviet union. That philosophy was marxism and communism, begins with the premise there is no god. This is a critical distinction, that is also articulated in our nations birth certificate. We know the language well. The famous second paragraph we used to have children memorize in school and they dont do that so often anymore, but they should. G. K. Chesterson said one time, america is the only nation in the world that is founded upon a creed. He said its listed with almost theol theol theological lucidity. We hold these truths to be selfevident, all men are created equal, not born equal, created equal, and endowed by the same in alienable rights. Life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. The creed that has made us the great nation that we are. And we are in a time of extraordinary crisis right now and the world needs us to be strong, they have need us to remember our creed and our admonition. Turmoil and violence have rocked the middle east and eastern europe, and tensions continue to build in the indopacific. The country demands strong leadership of this body and we must not waiver. Our nations greatest ally in the middle east is under attack. The first bill that im going to bring to this floor in just a little while will be in support of our dear friend israel and we are overdue in getting that done. [applause] we are going to show not only israel, but the entire world that the barberism of hamas that we have all seen play out on our Television Screens is wretch ed and wrong and we are going to stand for the good in the conflict. Catastrophe at the southern border, from texas to new york, wave after wave of Illegal Migrants are stressing our communities to breaking points. Streets are flooded with fentanyl in all of the communities, children and adults are dying from it. The status quo is unacceptable. Inaction is unacceptable and we must come together and address the broken border. We have to do it. [applause] the Skyrocketing Cost Of Living is unsustainable and americans should not have to worry about how they are going to feed their family because they cannot afford groceries anymore. Everybody in this room should think about this. Stats, prices have increased over 17 in the last two years. Credit card Interest Rates are at the highest level in nearly three decades, and Mortgage Rates are now at a peak we have not seen since 2001. We have to bring relief to the American People by reining in federal spending and bringing down inflation. [applause] the greatest threat to our National Security is our nations debt. And while we have been sitting in this room, thats right, the debt has crossed almost 33. 6 trillion and the time its going to take me to deliver this speech will go up another 20 million in debt. Its unsustainable. We have to get the country back on track. We know this is not going to be an easy task, and tough decisions will have to be made. But the consequences, if we dont act now, are unbearable. We have a duty to the American People to explain this to them so they understand it well and we are going to establish a Bipartisan Debt Commission to begin working on this crisis immediately. Immediately. [applause] we all know, we also live in a time of bitter partisanship, it was noted. And its been on display here today, right. When our people are losing their faith in government, when they are losing sight of the principles that made us the greatest nation in the History Of The World, i think we got to be mindful of that. We are going to fight, we are going to fight vigorously over our Core Principles because they are at odds a lot of times in this modern era. We have to sacrifice sometimes our preferences because thats whats necessary in a legislative body. But we will defend our Core Principles to the end. And in his Farewell Address thank you. In his Farewell Address, President Reagan explained the secret of his rapport with people and paraphrase, he said they call me the great communicator but i really wasnt that. I was just communicating great things. And the same great things that were in the nation since its founding. What are the great things . Se seven principles of american conservativism, but individual freedom, limited government, rule of law, peace through strength, fiscal responsibility, free markets, and human dignity. Those are the foundations that made us the extraordinary nation that we are. And you and i today are the stewards of those principles. The things that have made us the freest, most powerful, successful nation in the History Of The World made us truly exceptional. In this time of great crisis, our duty to Work Together. As previous generations of great leaders have to face great challenges and solve problems. The job of the speaker of the house is serve the whole body and i will. The Speakers Office will be known for decentralizing the power here. [applause] my office is going to be known for members being more involved and having more influence in our processes and all the major things made here, processes and regular order. We owe that to the people. Thats right. [applause] and i want to make this commitment to you, to my colleagues here and the other side of the aisle as well. My office is going to be known for trust and transparency and accountability. For good stewardship of the peoples treasury, for the honesty, integrity that is incumbent upon us, all of us here in the peoples house. Our system of government is not a perfect system. Its got a lot of challenges. But it is still the best one in the world and we have an opportunity to preserve it. [applause] last thing im going to say is a message to the rest of the world. They have been watching this drama play out for a few weeks, we have learned a lot of lessons. Through adversity, it makes you stronger. And, yeah. And we want our allies around the world to know that this body of lawmakers is reporting again to our duty stations. Let the Enemies Of Freedom Around The World hear us loud and clear. The peoples house is back in business. [cheering] thank you. Thank you. We will do our duty here, we will serve you well. We will govern well, and we will make you proud in this institution again. We are going to fight every day to make sure that its true. I look forward to the days ahead. I genuinely believe in my heart the best days of america are still ahead of us. God bless you, and god bless the United States of america. Thank you. John so there he is, sandra, speaker elect to the House Of Representatives, congressman mike johnson of louisiana with a speech that garnered applause on both sides of the aisle, which is as unusual as unanimous vote for speaker. Sandra and he will go on to be sworn in. I ask the dean of the House Of Representatives, honorable Harold Rogers of kentucky to please administer the oath of office. Mr. Speaker designee, congratulations on your election. Thank you, sir. When our Founding Fathers chose a bold new and Innovative New selfrule government, it was met by Deep Skepticism by the worlds monarchs. They said selfrule is only a dream. Our founders said they are right. Its the american dream. Amen. [applause] now its our dream. We are in charge. The speakership of the United StatesHouse Of Representatives is the crucial outpost for the wellbeing of the peoples government. The keeper, if you will, of the dream. Sir, if you wish to assume this awesome responsibility, please raise your right hand. Do you solemnly swear that you will support and defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. That you take this obligation freely without reservation or purpose of evasion and that you will and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which you are about to enter so help you god. I do. So help me god. Congratulations, mr. Speaker. Thank you. John and there you have it. The new speaker of the house. Congressman mike johnson of the state of louisiana. And it reminds me sort of as is he going to Say Something else, lets listen. For what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, that is a nice ring to it by the way. Mr. Speaker, Privilege Resolution to notify the mike johnson as speaker of the house and ask for the immediate. Clerk will report resolution. 810, resolve, that a message be sent to the senate to inform that body that mike johnson, representative from the state of louisiana, has been elected speaker of the House Of Representatives. Without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to consider is laid on the table. For what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition. Mr. Speaker, to notify President Biden of the election of mike johnson as speaker of the house. I offer Privilege Resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. The clerk will report the resolution. House resolution 811. Resolve that the clerk be instructed to inform the president of the United States that the House Of Representatives has elected mike johnson a representative from the state of louisiana speaker of the House Of Representatives. Without objection, the resolution is agreed to and the motion to consider, reconsider is laid on the table. Thank you. All right. The chair would take this occasion to note that the speakers announced policies with respect to particular aspect of the legislative process, january 9, 2023, continue in effect for the remainder of the 118 congress. The speaker has delivered to the Clerk A Letter dated october 25, 2023, each will act as speaker protem. The chair lays before the house a communication. Honorable, speaker, House Of Representatives, i harbor designate represent Steve Scalise to exercise any Authority Regarding assembly, reassembly, convening or reconvening of the house pursuant to 1, clause 12, rule 1, any concurrent resolution of the Concurrent Congress that may contemplate my designation of members to exercise similar authority. In the event of the death or inability of that designee. Alternate members in the house bearing this date i have placed with the clerk are designated in turn for the same purpose. Signed sincerely, mike johnson, speaker. The chair lays before the house a communication. Honorable kevin f. Mccumer, clerk of the house. I hereby appoint honorable patrick mchenry, adrian smith, honorable andy harris, honorable guy refreshenthaler, honorable walt whitman, ben cline, and john joyce, so act and sign bills and joint resolution through the remainder of the 118th congress. Signed sincerely, mike johnson, speaker. Without objection the appointments are approved. House will be in Recess Subject to call of chair pursuant to clause 12a of rule 1. Well be back soon. John and there you have it. Mike johnson, speaker of the house, hes going to have a Press Conference but nice moment when Steve Scalise, who thought he was going to be speaker, entered the motion to have the notification sent. Sandra One Lsu Tiger to another. And bret, his team describes him as a huge lsu fan and double lsu alum. He got his j. D. , i think 1998, undergrad in Business Administration 1995. What a remarkable moment, and here we are. Its done. Theres a new speaker, bret. It is done. It is amazing. Good afternoon, the 56th house speaker, speaker mike johnson, hes been four terms, his fourth term in congress and now some power with louisiana, both the speaker and the Majority Leader come from that state. Interesting to hear speaker johnson start his speech saying that he wanted to have Common Ground across the aisle on things that they can work on. That is important for democrats on this moment. Also important that they are going to start this bipartisan debt together, this group to look at dealing with that. That has echos of Simpson Bowles and how to deal with the debt over 33 trillion. And a lot of differences between minority Leader Jeffries and speaker johnson, but this is a moment for republicans this they are going to his first challenge is to deal with this one member vacating the speaker rule that is still in the rule, and they are going to have to as a Conference Get together and take that out to take the threat from having this 22 day process that has exhausted a lot of republicans from happening again. John in january, four votes, three different people and johnson comes out of nowhere. He must be thinking about the lyric in the Talking Heads SongOnce In A Lifetime you may find yourself in a Beautiful House and ask yourself how did i get here. And his wife kelly could not get a flight, how fast it all happened. Up from louisiana to celebrate this moment. Frankly, nobody knew it was going to happen. Think about that. Mccarthy, 22 days ago getting kicked out, then scalise, then jordan, then emmer, and then johnson. And it wasnt totally locked in that it was going to happen today but the conference came together and in parting because people were exhausted and embarrassed by this process. Now, its behind them, but they have to deal with this rule and they have to deal with the fact that they are going to try to get things done. The first thing they are going to try to get done is the Bill To Stand By israel and to call out hamas. And interestingly, i thought just going back as i was sitting here listening to President Biden in the Press Conference with the australian Prime Minister, it was interesting that he was asked about the numbers of palestinians dead and his answer was about not trusting the palestinian numbers. I think that that is probably a welcome thing for israeli leaders. Sandra and another moment while we are waiting for a live moment about to happen on the steps of the capitol there, bret, just a few minutes following his swearing in that we would see him and possibly hear from him with other republicans as they gather on the steps, well have that for our viewers. In the meantime, his name is now on the office door. I believe we have some video of it. It just happened. Speaker of the house, mike johnson, there it is. Bret, he said a Strong America is good for the entire world. Then went on to say as you just mentioned, his first bill will be in support of our dear friend israel. I mean, hes 51 years old, hes repped louisianas Fourth District since 2017, in his fourth term there, he serves as the vice chair of the House Republican conference, a leader on the judiciary and Armed Services committee, father of four, constitutional law attorney, a lot of america is just seeing mike johnson for the very first time and learning who he is. Bret thats right. Hes a christian conservative, talks about that quite a bit as you heard in that speech, how god drives a lot of what he believes in. He talked about the founding principles of the country, and you know, he said they are conservative principles but stand for the country overall, and you know, its interesting to see how hes going to lead and i think how they are going to try to get some of these things through. What he said was this is not going to be a top down process. This is going to be a bottom up process, which suggests that hes really going to try and they have before to do regular order and try to get the house working like its supposed to. We have not seen that as john knows and laughing in decades. John wouldnt that wouldnt that be something. A lot of members coming out, well see if johnson is among them here because he was expected to make some remarks in front of the capitol there. We will see you tonight, 6 00. Katie pavlich, town hall. Com editor and fox news contributor. So, its interesting that the moment that he was elected, the Biden Campaign put out a tweet, leading 2020 Election Denier was the headline, Hakeem Jeffries tweeted in 2018, the more we learn about the 2016 election, the more illegitimate it becomes. America deserves to know whether we have a fake president in the oval office. A lot of democrats have questioned the legitimacy of the elections. Why is Johnson Dinged for asking the same question jeffries did . Democrats were involved in getting the house here when they ousted kevin mccarthy, they helped with that process, and now you have him attacking the new speaker as an extremist, someone who cant be trusted, as someone who is too conservative. So as bret noted, the new speaker did say i want to work across the aisle on issues we can agree on. Hes going at this from a bipartisan viewpoint in trying to get some good will. But democrats are already on the offensive and attacking him as too extreme to be the house speaker. I thought it was interesting to listen to him introduce himself, hes not that wellknown, hes the first member of his family who went to college, the first speaker of the house from louisiana, louisiana is clearly having a big moment, but everyone is asking how is he the one able to get over the finish line and not just all the votes he needed, but unanimously get into the Speakers Office. And you know, well learn more about that because it did happen so quickly, but we do glean some of that from the letter that he sent when he announced his candidacy for speaker saying he wants this to be a team effort, wanted to involve all the members of his caucus, he wanted to restore trust and thats something you heard from a number of the members who spoke on his behalf today about how they were regaining trust among members and among the voters. One final thing, elise stefanik, who did speak about him earlier, said hes a friend to all and enemy to none, and that is certainly helpful in getting the speakership. We will see how long that lasts given how close the margins are and as they say in washington, if you dont have ten people in your party upset with you at once, you may not be doing the job very well. Sandra there you go. Speaking of the job and the message about what might lie ahead, and his goal as speaker, hopefully we see and hear from him shortly on the steps there, katie, he said he wants his office to be known for trust. He also said in that speech he wants to be known, his office to be known for decentralizing the power here, he said, standing on the house floor. What message do you think that sent . Basically saying we dont want this to be about leadership, dictating to the rest of the conference and the voters they represent, we want it to be a collaborative effort and listen to what he said in the leadup to getting the vote for speaker, A Comprehensive Process to put forward a Policy Agenda that helps the country move forward. So i think his doors will be open at his new office where his name is now hanging over the door and hearing from a lot of new members maybe who you have not heard from in terms of ideas and what they think should happen with the policies moving forward and how they approach the republican agenda. John to go back to a point a moment ago, Aishah Hasnie sent us a note, likeable member, nobody has anything bad to say about him. Hes going to move a lot of bills the democrats are not going to like and i expect that this idea that nobody has an unkind word about him just may change as you point out. Democrats say hes an extremist, but his goal as he said in his remarks in the house, he wants to shift the focus to pushing forward results and agenda items like the national debt, a big, tough policy position, and topic to take on. Paul ryan tried to do it, not successful, its not something you hear about a lot on the campaign trail, they are going to address the serious issue facing the country. We have a speaker, front row seat to history. John Thanks For Hanging with us. We spent a lot of quality time together waiting. It happened. Sandra it happened. John, by the way, some news happening right now, im sure well have more Coverage Later of this. A judge has fined the former president , donald trump, 10,000 for violating a gag order again apparently the judge did warn the former president dont do it again or it will be worse. Thats the news. John in that case, continue on and im sure there could be more times where the judge and the former president come to legal blows with each other. Good to be with you again. Sandra great to have you back. Thanks for joining us. Im sandra smith. Martha welcome back. Good afternoon. Im Martha Maccallum at fo