Commitment to upholding International Rules of the road, including freedom of navigation. Just this past week, the prc vessels acted as dangerously and unlawfully as our philippine friends conduct a routine mission in their own exclusive Economic Zone in the South China Sea. I want to be clear, i want to be very clear. The United States defense commitment to the philippines is ironclad. The United States Defense Agreement with the philippines is ironclad. Any attack on the filipino aircraft vessels, our mutual Defense Treaty with the philippines. And, mr. Prime minister, today we renewed our commitment to defend the values 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 id 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 its indeed a great honor for me to stand alongside my friend, President Biden, here today. The heart of our alliance, the enduring values that our people hold in common, faith and freedom and democracy. I believe in an opportunity, a determination to build a more prosperous and 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 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 has generated unprecedented Economic Opportunity for the nations and the people of our region. For australia, this is about investing in our capabilities and investing in ourship today, President Biden and i discussed the progress being made on australias acquisition of nuclear power, conventionally armed submarines, which we announced with Prime Minister rishi sunak in march in san diego. We are conscious that this is only the second time in history that the United States has shared this technology, and this speaks to the deep trust of our alliance and the significance of the challenge that we face together. Australia appreciates the administrations efforts to operationalize and work with congress to pass legislation needed to realize our augus ambitions. I appreciate once again, mr. President , your call for this legislation to be passed this year. It will drive innovation and cooperation to provide the United States, australia and the United Kingdom with improved capability to help secure peace and stability in the indopacific. Our corporation is 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 ai, and i join President Biden in welcoming microsofts 5 billion additional investment in australia which we announced this week here in washington. The president and i agree that innovation is vital to addressing the environmental challenge of Climate Change and seizing the Economic Opportunities of clean energy. The Climate Critical Minerals and Clean Energy Transformation compact 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 our strong economic ties. For the two countries to advance climate and clean energy this decade, both at home and globally new missions under the contract to support our energy transition, including the establishment of a Clean Energy Industry council comprised of business and Public Finance leaders to advise government on Clean Energy Industry development and cooperation. Were working closely with the United States to build endtoend sustainable, reliable and transparent Supply Chains for Critical Minerals. Of course australia has abundant supplies of those Critical Minerals that will drive our which is throughout this century. Lithium, cobalt, copper, and rare earths. We want to connect that with american markets, investors and technology in a way that creates new jobs and opportunities for industries and workers in both of our nations. Cheap e Cleaner Energy will reduce costs for households but it will also power a new generation of manufacturing. Our alliance is delivering for the indopacific region bilaterally, and increasingly with our partners in the quad. Australia and america supporting the connectivity of the region, and today we announced new funding for cables in the pacific, further support for infrastructure development, including efforts to increase the pacific, and well Work Together through a Pacific Banking Forum to ensure that our friends in the pacific maintain access to the Global Financial system. Today we also discussed their joint position, opposing russias illegal and immoral. Australia stands with ukraine, and President Biden welcomed the package of further assistance that i announced yesterday. This will provide ukraine with additional Military Assistance utilizing the Innovative Technology thats produced by australias Defense Industry partners. Finally, of course, last night and again today, we spoke about the situation in israel and gaza. Australia unequivocally condemns the terrorism of hamas. We grieve for the loss of every innocent life whether that be israel 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 and the example that he has set. Today i announce that australia will provide an additional 15 billion in humanitarian assistance for civilians in gaza. This adds to the 10 million australia has already committed and will help deliver life saving assistance such as Emergency Water and medical services. The friendship between australia and the United States was forged in hard times. Weve served and sacrificed together in the course of peace. We have helped each other through natural disaster. Australians and americans share a rich history. But we always have our eye on the future. Were united by a determination to overcome the challenges 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 thats stronger because of this alliance. We can take a few questions now. Mr. Garrison, usa today. Thank you, mr. President , and Prime Minister, welcome to washington. Mr. President , i want to ask about the conflict, the 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, quote, be careful as the administration tries to prevent the israelihamas war from expanding into a larger middle east conflict. But should americans be worried that the war already is escalating . And after you answer that question, i would like one more follow up, please. Look, we have had troops in the region since 9 11 to go after isis and prevent its reemergence 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 follow up here. Your conversations with Prime Minister netanyahu, obviously youve known for decades, and you had a very emotional trip there last week to israel. Have you sought assurances from him that he will hold off on the 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. Are these hostages in jeopardy if there is a ground you want to make a speech . No, look, obviously theyre in jeopardy. The question is whether or not theres any way o out. And if you get them out, we should get them out. Prime minister, albanese, welcome to washington. President biden cancelled his may trip to australia because of Debt Ceiling Talks in congress to avoid a first ever default here in the u. S. , more recently congressional action has stalled as House Republicans try to pick a speaker. However, it does appear since we now hear that the house has elected a congressman mike johnson from louisiana to that role. Are you worried that the gridlock in washington will hold up the transfer of Nuclear Powered subs to australia as part of the aucus agreement, and are you worried the dysfunction makes the u. S. A reliable partner . I regard the United States as a very reliable partner and i regard the relationship i have with the president as second to none. Other relationships that i have around the world or indeed domestically, for that matter. Its a relationship of trust. And i think this symbolizes that. I got to make president my newest Vice President just next door here some years ago, and im very confident in the discussions that ive had with democrats and republicans that there is very broad support, and there will be legislation going forward, and that would be a very good thing. Its in the interest of australia but 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 supportive of the arrangements. We in australia managed to get it so we get one question each. Good try, but channel 10 australia. Aucus is in many ways, your creation. Prime minister albanese has gone all in. Can you give a personal guarantee that you can get all the necessary legislation through congress, and lock in this deal, essentially future proofing it before the end of his president ial term . Do you know anyone in Elective Office can give a personal guarantee it happens . We would like you to try. Im going to try, and i believe it will get done. Last week we requested 3. 4 billion in supplemental funds and maintenance to meet u. S. Needs and also support aucus. Australia is making a significant investment in the United States and its ability to produce submarines as part of its deal, and more importantly, its important that Congress Move quickly and the fact is and im confident that we can get this done because you remember when we put the deal together, the response of democrats and republicans in the United States, the response around the free world was this is a very very good thing. The question is not if, but when. Were likely to have a new speaker. I hope thats true because we have to get moving. We have to get moving, and so im confident that were going to be able to get the money for aukus because its overwhelmingly 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, were not trying to surround china, were making sure the seas remain open, unilaterally be able to change the Rules Of The Road in terms of what constitutes International Airspace and water space, et cetera. Thats what this is all about. Its about making sure we have a close and its in addition to the fact that we put together the quad, which they didnt like. The quad is a very important piece as well. Its about maintaining stability in the taiwan strait, the indian ocean, that whole area, and i think its going to increase the prospects for longterm peace rather than anything else. Pbs, ms. 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 the Speaker Of The House. Johnson advocated Conspiracy Theories about Voting Machines and a rigged election in 2020. He encouraged his colleagues to join a lawsuit to invalidate the results of four states, so if you win reelection in 2024, are you worried that a speaker johnson would, again, attempt to overturn the election . No. Why not . Look, just like i was not worried that the last guy would overturn the election. There are about 60 lawsuits all the way to the supreme court, and every time they lost. I understand the constitution. Reporter in the 18 days since hamas killed 1,400 israelis, the hamascontrolled Gaza Health Ministry says Israeli Forces have killed over 6,000 palestinians including 2,700 children. Youve previously asked netanyahu to minimize civilian casualties, do these numbers say to you that hes ignoring that message . What they say to me is i have no notion that 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 israelis should be incredibly careful to be sure theyre focusing on going after the folks that are proagating this war against israel, and i have no confidence in the number that the palestinians are using. Reporter thank you, mr. President. Prime minister, albanese, youre traveling 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 . 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 with it is to cooperate where we can. Disagree where we must, but engage in our national interest. Its 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 traveling at the same time as we will commemorate the 50 years of first visit of 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 there is senior representatives in the u. S. Administration have had meetings with their chinese counter parts 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 Rite Of Passage in that important waterway there that is the china sea, the 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 were going to compete with china on every way, according to International Rules, economically, politically and in other ways, but not, im not looking for conflict. Jeff chambers from the australian. President biden, as mentioned, promised, 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 weve 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 and 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 others have engaged in in terms of intimidation in dealing with other countries but the fact is that i have met with xi jinping more than any other world leader has. I have over 68 hours of private meetings, he and i with simultaneous interpreters, starting back when i was Vice President. So i traveled 17,000 miles, and ive subsequently, in addition to that 68 hours, ive also had another, they tell me, they keep meticulous contact, another, i think, 12, 15 hours of discussions. Just he and i. And i think that he is realizing that there are, for example, is belton road an initiative . Were going to compete on that and do it a different way. We are working with our key seven partners to provide infrastructure for the very nations that theyre trying to deal with. We want to, for example, at 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 across, not the railroad but the pipeline across the mediterranean, up into europe. Reporter youre the reliable partner in terms of when you say youre going to deliver something. I hope not just me. I hope the United States is a reliable partner when we act. It wasnt just the United States that agreed on that. Because look, even to this day when my discussions with the saudis, the crown prince, he wants to see a Reconciliation Take place, its overwhelming in his interest, the saudis interest. An idea that you would have the nations of the middle east cooperate, changes the dynamic significantly. I just think that it is something thats in everyones interest, including longterm in chinas interest. Reporter 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 it is not a discussion with the australian Prime Minister. We understand the pressures which are there, but we have a request for a calling. Thank you. Reporter thank you. Thank you, everybody. The Press Conference has now concluded. Thank you, everyone. An extraordinary split screen of power, the president just finishing a Press Conference, and you saw Hakeem Jeffries handing the gavel to mike johnson, the new speaker elect of the House Of Representatives. Lets listen in. 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 very different points of view, but i know in your heart you love and care about this country, and you want to do whats right, so were going to find Common Ground there. All 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 reason were 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 years. You helped build it. I want to thank the dedicated and overworked staff of this house. [ applause ] accept phrase so stoically. Ms. Susan cole, our House Reading clerk. Yes, yes. [ applause ] listen, all the clerks and all the staff, theyre 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 couldnt get a flight in time. This happened sort of suddenly. But whistleblower 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, so i want to thank all of your families as well for what they endure and what they have had to endure the last few weeks. We have been here for a while. [ applause ] i want to thank my faithful mother, Jean Knee Johnson who bore me at the age of 17, and My Brother Chris and josh, and laura, and our family and extended family. We have a bunch of them. I want to thank the Extraordinary People of the great state of louisiana, we have never had a Speaker Of The House hail from our state. So they have been lifting us up. I thank the people of louisiana for the opportunity to serve you in congress. And i am 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 were 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 youre facing. We know that theres a lot going on in our country. Domestically and abroad and we are ready to get to work to solve those problems and we will. Our mission is to serve you well, to restore the peoples faith in this house in this great and essential institution. My dad was a firefighter. He was an Assistant Chief of the Fire Department in my hometown of shreveport, louisiana, on september 17, 1974, 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 sheaf port. After the explosion, he nearly died, it was a long road back, and it changed our life trajectories. Im the oldest of four kids. My dad lived with pain the rest of his life 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. Several weeks after that, it was early 2017, it was my freshman term, and it felt to me to be in the roster in one night to serve here as speaker pro tem. I thought that was a big deal until i figured out thats what you do for freshmen late at night. And i think if my memory serves, ms. Jackson lee was winding down one of her long eloquent speeches. And not that i was not enraptured by her speech, but i looked up at the top of the chamber, and i saw the face of moses staring down, and i just felt in that moment the weight of this place, the history that is revered here and the future that we are called to forge, and i really was just kind of overwhelmed with emotion. It occurred to me in that moment, it had been several weeks, and i had not had an opportunity to grieve my dads passing, and i just had the sense that somehow he knew, and i had tears come to my eyes and i was standing here, wiping them away, and it suddenly occurs to me, the late night cspan viewers are going to think something is wrong with the new young congressman from louisiana. I just knew in that moment, my father would be proud of me, and i felt that he was. And i think all of our parents are proud of what we do here. The American People at one time had great pride in this institution. Thats in jeopardy. We have a challenge to rebuild and restore that trust. This is a beautiful country. Its the 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 what lincoln referred to as the last best hope of man on earth. We stand at a dangerous time. Im stating the obvious. The world is in turmoil. A Strong America is good for the entire world. [ applause ] we are the beacon of freedom, and we must preserve this grand experiment in selfgovernance. We dont know how long it will last. But we do know that the founders told us to take good care of it. I want to tell all of my colleagues here what i told the republicans in that room last night. I dont believe there are any 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 has ordained and allowed each one of us to be brought here for this specific moment in time. This is my belief. I believe each one of us has a huge responsibility today to use the gifts that 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 great beacon of light and hope and freedom in a world that desperately needs it. [ applause ] it was in 1962 that our national motto, in god we trust, was adorned above this roster. And if you look at the little guide that 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. It says simply, these words were placed above us, this model was placed as a rebuke of the cold war era philosophy of the soviet union. That philosophy was marxism and communism, which begins with the premise that 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 that we used to have children memorize in school and they dont do that so often anymore, but they should. Gk chesterson was the famous british philosopher and statesman, and he said one time, america is the only nation in the world that is founded upon a creed, and he said its listed with almost theological lucidity in the declaration of independence. We hold these truths to be selfevident that all men are created equal, not born equal, created equal, and they are endowed with the same inail nabl rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is the creed that has animated the nation since its founding. Were in a time of extraordinary crisis, and the world needs us to be strong and to remember our creed and our admonition. Turmoil and violence have rocked the middle east and eastern europe. We know intentions continue o build in the indopacific. The country demands strong leadership of this body, and we must not waver. 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 were overdue in getting that done. [ applause ] were going to show not only israel, but the entire world that the barbarism of hamas that we have all seen play out on our Television Screens is retched and wrong, and we are going to stand for the good in that conflict. We have a catastrophe at our southern border. The senate and the white house can no longer the problem, from texas to new york, wave after wave of Illegal Migrants are stressing our communities to their breaking points. We know that our streets are being flooded with fentanyl and all of our communities, children and even adults are dying from it. The status quo is unacceptable. Inaction is unacceptable, and we must come together and address the broken bo to do it. [ applause ] the Skyrocketing Cost Of Living is unsustainable and americans should not have to worry about how theyre going to feed their family every week because they cant afford their groceries anymore. Everybody in this room should think about this, heres the 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 havent seen since 2001. We have to bring relief to the American People by raining in federal spending and bringing down inflation. [ applause ] the greatest threat to our National Security is our nations debts, and while we have been sitting in this room thats right. [ applause ] that debt has crossed to almost 33. 6 trillion. In the time that its going to take me to deliver this speech, it will go up another 20 million in debt. Its unsustainable. We have to get the country back on track. Now, 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 theyre 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. Were going to fight. Were going to fight vigorously over our Core Principles because theyre at odds a lot of times now 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. In his farewell address. President reagan explained the secret of his rapport with people, and i like to Par Franchise his explanation, they call me the great communicator, but i really wasnt that. I was just communicating great things, and the same great things they have since our nation was founded. What are those great things . I call them the seven Core Principles of american conservatism. I think its really quintessentially, individual freedom, limited government, the 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, most successful nation in the history of the world, the things that have made us truly exceptional. In this time of great crisis, it is our duty to Work Together as previous generations of great leaders have, to face great challenges and solve great problems. I will conclude with this. The job of the Speaker Of The House is to serve the whole body, and i will, but i have made a commitment to my colleagues here that this Speakers Office is going to 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 in all the major decisions that are made here for predictable processes and regular order. We owe that to the people. [ applause ] i want it make this commitment to you to my colleagues here and on the other side of the aisle as well, my office is going to be known for trust and transparency and accountability. Good stewardship, for the honesty and 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 i want 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, you know what, through adversity, it makes you stronger. [ applause ] 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. [ applause ] 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. Were going to fight every day to make sure its true. I look forward to the days ahead. I genuinely believe in my heart that the best days of america are still ahead of us. God bless you, and god bless the United States of america. Thank you. [ applause ] thank you. Im now ready to take the oath of office, and i ask the dean of the House Of Representatives, the 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 skepticism by the worlds monarchs. They said selfrule is only a dream. Our founders said theyre right. Its the american dream. Amen. [ applause ] now, its our dream. Were in charge. The speakership of the United States House Of Representatives is the crucial ethos for the well being 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 truth and allegiance to the same, that you take this obligation freely without any Mental Reservation or purpose of evasion, and that you will well 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 [ applause ]. Congratulations, mr. Speaker. [ applause ]. Would you all like to get right into governing . For what purpose does the gentleman from louisiana seek recognition . Mr. Speaker, that has a nice ring to it, by the way. [ applause ] mr. Speaker i have a privileged resolution to notify the senate of the election of mike johnson as speaker of the House Of Representatives and ask for its immediate consideration. The clerk will report the resolution. House resolution 810, resolve that a measure be sent to the senate to inform that body that mike johnson, a representative from the state of louisiana, has been elected speaker of the House Of Representatives. Without objection, a 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. Privileged resolution and ask for its immediate consideration. [ applause ]. 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 reconsider is laid on the table. Thank you. The chair would take this occasion to note that the speakers announced policies with respect to particular aspects of the legislative process, placed in the record on january 9, 2023, will continue in effect for the remainder of the 118th congress. The chair announces that the speaker has delivered to the Clerk A Letter dated october 25th, 2023, Listing Members in the order in which each shall act as speaker pro tem under clause 8b rule 1. The chair lays before the house the communication. The honorable, speaker, House Of Representatives, i hereby designate representative Steve Scalise to exercise any Authority Regarding assembly, reassembly, convening or reconvening of the house pursuant to house concurrent resolution 1, clause 12, approve 1, and any concurrent resolution of the Current Congress made my designation of members to exercise similar authority. In the event of the death or inability of that designee, the alternate members of the house listed in the letter bearing this date that 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. The honorable kevin f. Mccumber, clerk of the house, washington, d. C. , i appoint the honorable patrick mchenry, the honorable adrian smith, the honorable andy harris, the honorable guy rushenthaler, the honorable rob whitman, the honorable ben klein, the honorable richard hudson. And so the traditions of the House Of Representatives are in tact, but in place is a new Speaker Of The House. Entire conference, the entire republican conference voted unanimously. The man from louisiana says he is the son of a firefighter. He is, indeed, the son of a firefighter. Mike johnson is also an election denier. He is someone who served on the defense team for donald trump and had the when he was impeached and has had the support of donald trump. Joining us now from capitol hill, nbcs ali vitali and nbcs Garrett Haake. I noted, ali, that he started his remarks by talking about working together with Hakeem Jeffries and the democrats. He also made it clear that there is a comprehensive conservative agenda that he plans to pursue so where does that leave the house . Reporter and its one that democrats are not likely to get on board for. Well see how this unfolds. Likely the first thing that we see them do here is a resolution to condemn hamas. Thats going to be largely bipartisan in fashion. Well see, then, if they move on to aid for israel, certainly thats a large part of the conversation right now as well. In the next few minutes, we may see the newly elected Speaker Of The House come behind me on the podium, walk down the front steps of the capitol and for the first time address folks from this location of the building that he is now the speaker of. There were a few things that struck me in his remarks, chris. The first is that he shouted out Kevin Mccarthy as the man who came before him, the man who republicans have the majority in large part because of. You can see there on the steps now, ill have our camera pan over. You can see some of the lawmakers making their way out of the chamber. Well keep our eyes peeled for the speaker himself. One of the other things, the ways in which he spoke directly to republicans, it sounded like because they are the ones who of course elected him in unanimous fashion. Were seeing there, gaetz, crane, rosendale, some of those who first voted to oust mccarthy in the first place, and apparently theyre coming to talk to me. Hi, guys, how do you feel now that you have a new speaker in place . We feel very good. I think he is the right man for the job. This town and the k street lobbyist and really the money changers, this is not their candidate. This is the peoples candidate. Hes not the one that they wanted but hes the one that america needs. Reporter theres a lot of frustration in the conference, the eight of you all for ousting mccarthy. Not anymore. Reporter is that a conversation that you had with now speaker johnson . This was the most popular vote so far this year, to oust let me go to Garrett Haake because obviously our shot has gone down. Now a surprise, theyre making it sound like everything is kumbayah, they have have all the volts in the republican conference, but what are some of the road blocks ahead . Reporter the road blocks are going to remain the same as they have through the congress, chris, and i think the first test of that is how they keep the government funded in a few short weeks. That was part of what mike johnson now the speaker had to convince his conference of to get these votes. Some kind of plan to avoid a Government Shutdown that could hit just before thanksgiving. He ran, very public running on the idea that theyre going to have to pass another continuing resolution. He suggests to his members, january or april even so they dont get jammed with one of these christmas funding cliffs that weve all gotten so used to here on capitol hill. That will be an early test, and its possible hell be tested even before that on this question of aid for israel and ukraine. The israel part wont be controversial. You heard an illusion to that in Mike Johnsons speech but the aid to ukraine continues to be a huge, controversial point among House Republicans, and among House Republicans who will make up Mike Johnsons base most of all. Make no mistake, johnson was trying to introduce himself to the country as a man of faith, and someone who can work with both sides of the aisle. By policy, by actions around the 2020 election, this is the first maga Speaker Of The House that were going to have here, and i suspect that is what we will see in governance, once hes got his government set up. The other big hurdle hes going to have to face in the couple of weeks. Going to a Junior Member of the leadership team, to speakership, he has to get staffed up, moved into the office. We have been watching staffers move furniture in and out of that office all day long. Theres a lot of work to get done for speaker johnson that typical call speaker designee does in between winning the election and assuming the position the following january, hes going to be doing it in realtime, putting the airplane together while its in the air in the middle of a war. A very daunting series of tasks for this new speaker. Ali vitali, Garrett Haake, thank you both very much, and again, the new speaker, a big supporter of donald trump. And we have breaking news that the former President Donald Trump has just been fined 10,000 by the judge in his new york city fraud trial. Nbcs dasha burns is at the new york courthouse. What an extraordinary moment it must have been. My understanding is donald trump took the stand today. What happened . Reporter thats exactly right. Quite a dramatic last 15 or 30 minutes or so inside this courthouse here. The subject of the testimony for donald trump, he took the stand for a minute or so, but during one of the breaks earlier today when trump was talking t reporters, he said this. He said, quote, a partisan judge with a person whos very sitting alongside him, perhaps even much more partisan than he is. The person sitting next to the judge is his clerk. Former President Trump initially got in trouble. He got the gag order placed on him after he posted a disparaging post about that very clerk. So when this message, when this quote got back to the judge, he was very upset, and considered sanctioning trump about this. When they got back into the courtroom, at one point he asked trump to, in fact, take the stand. He asked trump who he was referring to. Trump said that he was referring to him, the judge, and to michael cohen. After some back and forth questioning the former president , the judge ultimately determined that trump was, quote, not credible in his testimony, and decided to fine him 10,000. He believed that trump was, in fact, referring to the clerk. He told him dont do it again or it will be much worse, chris. All right. Thank you for that. Danny cevallos is with us as well. In fact, his attorney, chris kise said theres no evidence to the contrary, asked the judge to reconsider. Obviously the judge said this is bogus, what he tried to say. Look, he was fined 5,000. He was told to stop it. Now he has been fined 10,000, where does that leave donald trump. Where does that lead the judge . Sanctions follow a continuum. They start with an admonishment, then they go to monetary fines and at the end of the road is imprisonment. If the judge cannot get a person to comply with what the judge needs. Judges have a lot of power. Its the inherent power of the court to control the docket and control the decorum of the courtroom, and sanctions can go all the way up to civil and criminal contempt, and that can result in incarceration. Trump knows this, Everybody Knows this, and i think that trump, that the judge certainly had the discretion to decide that trumps explanation, oh, i was talking about cohen wasnt credible, and i think that was a reasonable conclusion based on the statement and based on the context in history. Understanding Donald Trumps history and understanding this could very well happen again, the problem, of course, with the judge is this is not any defendant, and what might follow if he decides to take, what would be a pretty harsh action in any circumstance, but certainly in this circumstance to put donald trump in jail, the reaction to that, the potential consequences to that, very different from any other defendant who decides that theyre going to break the rules. Every judge and every prosecutor so far has publicly said that donald trump will be treated like every other defendant in every other case, Everybody Knows thats not exactly true. Youre bringing up a very good point, which is howo you punish someone like donald trump wi incarceration if he continues to misbehave. Bodyho was flanked by Secret Service members, every move is guarded by the u. S. Government. Every judge dealing with donald trump knows even though they may have the power to incarcerate him for contempt, they dont want to do it. It would be a procedural and administrative nightmare. So look just now. Weve already seen the fines move up to 10,000. For someone like you or me, that would be devastating. For someone like donald trump, it is nothing. Look for the fines to get greater and greater and i predict a judge will bend over backwards in any of these cases to avoid trying to incarcerate donald trump, to punish him. It would be too thorny an issue. In that sense, unfortunately, donald trump is different than any defendant, civil or criminal in the United States. Danny cevallos, thank you for that. In a move at his fraud trial, donald trump took the stand. The judge didnt buy what he had to say. Now in addition to his originally 5,000 fine. Hes been find 10,000 on a very busy wednesday. That is going to do it for us this hour. Make sure to join us for Chris Jansing reports every weekday 1 00 to 3 00 p. M. Eastern here on msnbc. Our coverage continues with katy tur reports, shes got a lot to talk about right now. We do have a lot to talk about, including the trump fine which were going to get to in a moment. Good to be with you. Im katy tur. After three weeks and four failed votes, theres a speaker of the House Of Representatives. Congressman mike johnson won the gavel this afternoon, 220
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