WASHINGTON — Yesterday, after announcing the House’s national security supplemental plan, Speaker of of the House Mike Johnson joined Larry Kudlow on Fox Business’ Kudlow and Jake Tapper on CNN’s The Lead to discuss the House plan, the need for urgent border security measures, and the motion to vacate.
“What we’ve done is taken the Senate supplemental bill, and we’ve improved the process and the policy, and that’s a really important thing,” Speaker Johnson said.
On the supplemental national security package, Speaker Johnson highlighted key enhancements made by the House. “What we’ve done for example, in the Ukraine piece of this, is we’ve added the loan instrument concept, we’ve added the REPO Act – which everybody knows is the seizure of corrupt Russian oligarchs’ assets – to be used to fund the effort in Ukraine,” he explained. “We introduced a lot of new accountabilities and oversight.”
Regarding the urgent need to support U.S. allies, Speaker Johnson emphasized, “A strong America is good for the entire world. We bring stability and peace – the perception that America is strong is important and has been since World War II and we cannot let down that responsibility.”
On border security, Speaker Johnson expressed frustration with the Senate’s inaction on legislation passed by the House over a year ago. “Some of my colleagues want the Speaker of the House to have a magic wand,” he remarked. “If we could close the border ourselves, we would have done it a long time ago.”
Regarding President Biden’s leadership, Speaker Johnson criticized what he perceived as a lack of strength in projecting U.S. power globally. “The problem is you and I both know, Larry, this President is projecting weakness on the world stage and that’s why all our nation’s enemies are acting so provocatively,” he asserted.
Addressing the motion to vacate, Speaker Johnson emphasized his focus on governing and leading the House through challenging times. “I’m trying to govern and lead this institution at a very interesting, unprecedented time,” he said.
Speaker Johnson’s appearances underscored the House’s commitment to addressing critical national security issues while navigating complex political dynamics.