After narrowly winning reelection as House Speaker on Friday, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) pledged his allegiance to several traditional Republican agenda items in an address to his chamber colleagues.
Johnson began his address by humbly expressing gratitude for the honor of being reelected and called for a moment of silence in honor of those from his state who were killed in a New Year’s Day terrorist attack.
A major theme of Johnson’s speech was his plan to institute an “America First Agenda,” which he invoked throughout his address.
Speaker Johnson promised to put an end to what he called the “fourth branch” of government - “the administrative state” - which governs without the consent of the governed, because it is run by unelected bureaucrats.
Johnson also vowed to:
- Reduce the size of government.
- Create a “leaner” government workforce.
- Promote fiscal responsibility.
- Renew the “Trump tax cuts.”
- Create greater government accountability.
- End the Green New Deal.
Additionally, he promised to secure the nation’s southwest border and finish building Trump’s border wall there.
Before Johnson spoke, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) gave an address to the chamber, in which he promised to work with Republicans to secure the border. Johnson told Jeffries that he’s “counting on” him to be true to his word.
However, Jeffries also said that he’s determined to “fix” America’s “broken immigration system” – without explaining what that means.