Press Releases

WASHINGTON — Today, House Republicans again unanimously selected Speaker Johnson to lead the House Republican Conference and continue serving as the 56th Speaker of the House of Representatives for the 119th Congress.

“We had a very productive day together as a Republican Conference, and the theme that you'll hear over and over from all of our members across the conference is that we are unified and energized and ready to go,” Speaker Johnson said. “We have to deliver for the American people beginning on day one in the new Congress, and we will be ready for that.”

Click here to watch Speaker Johnson’s remarks

House Republicans also elected Rep. Steve Scalise to serve as Majority Leader, Rep. Tom Emmer to serve as Majority Whip, Rep. Lisa McClain to serve as Conference Chairwoman, Rep. Richard Hudson to serve as NRCC Chairman, Rep. Blake Moore to serve as Conference Vice Chairman, Rep. Kevin Hern to serve as Conference Policy Chair, and Rep. Erin Houchin to serve as Conference Secretary.

Following the leadership elections, the new House Republican Leadership team delivered remarks and took questions from assembled press.

Read below for a transcript of Speaker Johnson’s remarks:

It is a new day in America. Yesterday morning, we began on the steps of the House as everyone was flying in to begin work again as we complete the 118^th Congress. 

We celebrated what is a new beginning, really, a new morning in America, and a new day in America. We began this morning with President Trump. He came to visit us; it was a bit of a pep rally. Everybody feels very confident and very encouraged about the days ahead. And he gave us a very inspirational message.  

He talked about the importance of maintaining unity and standing with this leadership team to go forward. It was very well received, and that set the tone for our day. 

We had a very productive day together as a Republican Conference, and the theme that you'll hear over and over from all of our members across the conference is that we are unified and energized and ready to go. 

We have to deliver for the American people beginning on day one in the new Congress, and we will be ready for that. 

I want to congratulate these new leaders that have been duly elected to help serve the conference. It’s an extraordinary leadership team, and those who have been reelected have earned those positions well. 

This was a group and a body today that worked together and did some really extraordinary things, putting together a leadership team and deciding upon our conference rules. I want to again tip my hat to the chairs of two of our most important and active caucuses within the Republican Conference. 

The House Freedom Caucus, Dr. Andy Harris and Congressman Dusty Johnson of the Main Street Caucus, who worked together with a with a subgroup of members to work through very deliberate process to come up with the rules. So, we come out of this excited to deliver the America first agenda for the American people. 

Like the Majority Leader said, we traveled all around the country, all of us did. We all campaigned for our colleagues throughout the year, and we felt the energy on the ground as Steve said.

And we took the temperature of the American people. We heard their concerns. We heard that no matter where you are in the country, north, south, east, or west, the number one concerns were the cost of living, the wide-open border, the instability on the world stage, the weakness that has gotten us into the most dangerous situation since World War II. 

They were worried about instability and insecurity, the radical, progressive, woke agenda. People have had enough of all that. 

And so we're going to deliver solutions to all those great challenges facing the country. And we're excited to do it. 

I know you're all tired of hearing my football metaphors, but we have a very well-designed playbook. We will begin to execute those plays with precision on day one. 

Our new and incoming members were here for new member orientation today. They were a part of all of this today, and we're preparing the players now to take that field beginning early in January, when all this all begins again on January 3. 

We will wrap up the work of the 118th. We will get that work done, and we'll move into the new Congress with excitement and delivering on the promises that we have made the American people. We're grateful to be working hand in hand with President Trump and to take this energy into the new year.

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