NEWS; Speaker Johnson Holds Press Briefing After Trump Orders Blockade Of Iran's Ports

[0:07] hey hey standing in the middle of stuff [0:21] okay well she's still standing [0:29] hey god you don't have a motorized [0:49] oh that's great [0:57] well good morning everybody and welcome to the first tax day under the new republican [1:08] tax cuts so i want to take a close look at the amazing crew standing with us today job creators [1:19] small business owners working americans these are the people house republicans had in mind [1:27] when we pass the working families tax cuts the men and women who get up early stay late work overtime [1:37] shifts and actually keep this great country of ours moving because after four years of videnomics [1:48] americans desperately need relief families watched prices skyrocket grocery prices went up gas prices [1:58] went up rent prices went up and you know what republicans did we said enough we passed the working [2:07] families tax cuts because we actually believe if you work hard you actually are better stewards of [2:19] your dollars than the united states government we actually have faith in the people standing behind [2:26] us that they will do good with the dollars they will reinvest in their businesses reinvest in their [2:35] employees and let me remind you of one thing that i make sure i say every week [2:40] every single democrat voted to raise your taxes every single democrat voted to raise your taxes [2:54] that's right democrats were willing to raise the taxes on the very people behind us that's what they [3:02] wanted the waitresses picking up extra shifts the uber drivers working late the hairdressers working overtime [3:10] the small business owners just trying to make payroll democrats said no we want more of your money [3:19] but you know republicans did we said absolutely not we actually want the american people and the hardworking [3:27] people standing behind us to keep more of their money because government does not know how to spend your [3:35] paycheck better than you do republicans voted for bigger refunds for bigger paychecks for the american [3:44] people and democrats voted no that's the difference democrats wanted to raise your taxes democrats wanted [3:54] to raise taxes on the very people joining us today democrats wanted to raise taxes on every single person [4:04] in in america isn't that crazy why democrats think they are better stewards of your money democrats advocate [4:15] for waste fraud interviews we don't democrats wanted to raise the taxes and keep saying that and republicans [4:25] said no and just because they wanted to spend more of your money and waste more of your money and that's [4:32] exactly why republicans will keep fighting for hard-working families and hard-working small businesses [4:42] we will keep fighting for the american people so thank you one of the architects behind this working [4:54] families tax cut who worked tirelessly and diligently the chairman of ways and means mr jason step [5:04] thank you miss lisa the working families tax cuts are the product of the ways and means committee [5:15] leaving washington dc and going out to real america we went to petersburg west virginia to the lumberyard [5:24] we went to a farm in yukon oklahoma we went to a factory in peachtree city georgia these these working [5:34] americans gave us the ideas to bring real immediate relief to workers families farmers and small businesses [5:45] across this country i think of patrick rona a waiter in las vegas who testified that no tax on tips is [5:55] going to free up enough money to basically cover his energy bills for a year that is life-changing [6:04] assistance in fact in fact nearly half of all filers have claimed either no tax on tips no tax on overtime [6:19] no tax on social security or no tax on auto loan interest on their returns so far this year overall [6:28] the working families tax cuts boosted the money going back into the pockets of workers and families [6:35] by 11 percent with an average tax refund of over thirty four hundred dollars but you know some are even [6:48] experiencing more like a waitress in my district who told me that thanks to no tax on tips the permanent [6:58] enhanced child tax credit and several other provisions she received a ten thousand dollar refund [7:07] she told me congressman this will pay for my rent for a year plus food a single mother with multiple kids [7:15] that is who we were targeting our bill prioritized working moms and dads not billionaires we are proud [7:23] that thanks to the working families tax cuts a family of four earning seventy three thousand dollars [7:30] a year pay zero federal taxes they owe uncle sam nothing when they file their taxes this year that is real relief [7:42] for real americans that this republican congress delivered for the american people [7:51] official to actually hear from one of the recipients of the working families tax cut amber [8:04] as a steel worker the working family tax cuts are important it means more money in our paychecks and [8:12] stronger jobs in our town of canton ohio no taxes on overtime no taxes on tips and bigger refunds are a [8:21] real relief for the working families thanks to congress and president trump for giving us a fair shot and [8:27] noticeable money back in our pockets sorry guys thank you amber on november 5 2024 the american people [8:48] elected a republican house the republican senate and president donald j trump with a mandate a mandate [8:55] for change four years of disastrous bidenomics and americans feeling the strain of higher prices falling [9:02] wages and record inflation to put it plainly president trump and republicans were handed an economy in [9:09] ruin and for the last 15 months we've worked hard to build it back brick by brick the cornerstone of our [9:17] efforts was the historic working families tax cuts signed into law by president trump last july this [9:24] tax day millions of americans are feeling unprecedented relief from this once in a generation bill the [9:31] average tax refund as you heard from chairman smith is up 11 percent compared to last year nearly half [9:37] of all filers claim a tax benefit from our tax bill this tax season that's tens of millions of taxpayers [9:45] taking advantage of provisions like no tax on tips no tax on overtime the child tax credit the social [9:53] security tax deduction and the list goes on and on every single democrat it needs to be emphasized [10:00] voted against this tax relief and voted to increase the taxes on all americans every single democrat despite [10:09] the media and democrats fighting us every step of the way republicans delivered pro-worker pro-family and [10:16] pro-growth policies failure was never an option make no mistake when republicans govern the american [10:24] people actually win the americans standing with here with us today are put that on full display this tax day [10:31] the real winners of our america first general agenda are clear service workers law enforcement parents [10:40] manufacturers everyday americans and our work isn't finished we still have more to do but today [10:47] we're celebrating the fact that the american people are keeping more of their hard-earned money [10:52] in their pocket making own their own decisions on their future with that i'll turn it over to our great leader [10:58] steve skleet well thank you well what a beautiful day it is in america for the first time in a long time [11:12] americans are celebrating april 15th this tax day because american families are getting money back today [11:19] their government is finally delivering for them when you think about what we set out to do as chairman [11:25] spin talked about what the objective was when we created the work and family tax that president trump [11:31] campaigned on it he talked about what he would do number one we're going to prevent a tax increase [11:36] on american families and every democrat voted because they wanted a tax increase on american [11:42] families but we said we're going to take power away from washington and give it back to the people [11:48] what a powerful idea that is as we celebrate 200 great experiment known as american democracy [11:56] a revolution was started to say we're going to give power back to people and we furthered that promise [12:03] in this bill and now we're seeing the benefits families are seeing the benefits you heard the [12:08] lies that were being told oh gee whiz it's the millionaires and the billionaires well you know who's [12:13] benefiting it's hard working families people who were struggling to get by under the biden administration [12:20] who couldn't afford to put food on the table they're finally getting something back the average worker [12:26] under our bill will get thirty four hundred dollars back when they file their taxes you want to go file [12:32] your taxes today you want to get that money back that you worked so hard for all the fraud and [12:38] corruption that you saw democrats voting to protect that's what they wanted to keep going on in [12:45] washington we said end the fraud in washington and give the money back to people that's going to ask [12:51] this week i take i bring members of congress smaller in the country to go tour an offshore oil rig to [13:01] see where great american energies being produced in the gulf of america and we went up to a great [13:07] occidental rig in the gulf and we met with the workers and one of the things we did a hundred miles [13:13] offshore is we did a roundtable town hall meeting with some of the workers and there were about 50 workers [13:21] in that room and one of the first questions they asked was about how the no tax on overtime provision [13:28] worked so i asked them i said how many of you work overtime and every hand went up and i said how [13:36] many of you have filed your taxes and only one hand went up and i said you need to go home this weekend [13:43] and file your taxes because you're going to get real money back again thirty four hundred dollars on [13:48] average they were excited about that provision because when you're away from your family you're [13:53] being asked maybe to work a little extra time and you want to work overtime you want to get the extra [13:58] money but then you get the paycheck and a whole bunch of that is taken out by the federal government [14:03] well that wouldn't you work overtime you get to keep more of your money that's what this american [14:08] dream is all about and i asked other people in my district how's this working for you look in new [14:14] orleans we've got great restaurants we're proud of it but we've also got great workers at our [14:19] restaurants the people that bring the food to your table he a restaurant worker in new orleans [14:24] benefited from the no tax on tips provision and he said that he saw the largest return he's ever had [14:30] he's already filed his taxes anthony who's a police officer in my district said no tax on overtime [14:37] has allowed him to invest in his daughter's future and help his wife's small business [14:43] this bill is working for hard working families all across this great country and let me tell you [14:50] because the democrats are clamoring to get the majority back today the democrats have already [14:56] said if they get the majority this november they will reverse the working families tax cut they will [15:02] take that money away from you are we going to let that happen no way americans are getting the benefits [15:09] of what republican leadership has done they don't want to go back they don't want to get that forty [15:14] three hundred dollars that's working for their family back to washington to fund fraud in indesota [15:20] and california and other places we're not going to let that happen we're going to keep fighting for the [15:25] hard-working people of this great country and the end of that charge is our speaker mike johnson [15:32] you know ronald reagan had a great saying he used to remind us that every republicans favorite day [15:42] on the calendar every year is july 4th and every democrats favorite day is april 15th but they're not [15:49] as happy today i can assure you of that because last year on july 4th on our favorite day we celebrated [15:55] signing the working families tax cut in law the president signed it out on the lawn we were all [16:00] there to celebrate with b2s flying ceremoniously overhead it was a great day for america because [16:05] we knew when we signed it last year on july 4th we would come to this day and it is a great day because [16:12] this filing season three things are happening as you just heard uh summarize there lower taxes bigger [16:18] refunds and more money in the pockets of hard-working americans we did that intentionally and that's [16:24] exactly what's happening thanks to the working families tax cuts americans in all 50 states are [16:29] benefiting from taxes that are lower and simpler and fairer for their families this legislation is so [16:36] revolutionary because it is permanent that's a big thing in the past 40 that's right right past 40 years [16:47] since the administration of ronald reagan this country has only seen temporary tax cuts but because [16:52] the extraordinary leadership of the republicans standing behind me and all the rest who work in this [16:56] congress congress to get this done our chairman jason smith and the committees of jurisdiction we did it [17:02] our historic bill does that for the first time since 1986 americans tax rates were permanently [17:09] reduced permanently yeah that's right been noted and we're going to continue to remind the voters of [17:18] this country every single democrat in congress every single democrat voted to raise your taxes [17:25] every republican standing behind me and all the rest voted for the working families tax cuts so americans [17:30] can keep more of their own hard-earned money we don't believe you should send it all here to uncle's [17:35] hand we want you to keep it joining us today are just a few of the americans who are seeing the real [17:40] and positive impact of this extraordinary legislation of what we've done and we've heard from people like [17:45] amber who's well done by the way we have uh standing behind this federico a server from maryland who uh all these [17:55] folks are keeping more of the money they are this no tax on overtime is a big big thing and it's noted [18:05] the average tax cut is fourteen hundred dollars per worker um as chairman smith noted about half [18:12] of americans who have filed have taken advantage of these extraordinary new of benefits that they have [18:17] of not owing their money to taco sam we also have behind us kevin he's a full-time door dasher kevin back [18:24] here somewhere yes thank you yeah kevin's going to join us at the white house later you know what [18:31] he gets to keep every penny of his tips as will six million other americans who've already claimed [18:38] that particular benefit on their taxes we also have adam from columbus he's a restaurant owner where's [18:42] adam hey adam let me tell you that uh he's benefiting from the confidence confidence and the certainty of [18:53] that permanent small business deduction we also have justin fourth generation farmer with us today [18:59] smart enough to wear a cowboy hat today all right he he can afford to pass on his family business [19:10] you know why because thanks to the death tax exemption that's permanently expanded for hard-working [19:16] families that's right we have craig with us cattle producer and father of three back here there we go [19:26] that's right it it's now doubled and again permanent and finally steve from phoenix arizona who owns a [19:36] manufacturing company he has 27 employees in his company and he represents millions of americans who [19:46] are leading our nation's industrial comeback because of our pro-growth policies thanks to full expensing [19:52] for research and development new factories and new capital investment here on u.s soil and that is a [19:58] big thing that's been delivered for the people now these americans are facing the working families [20:02] tax cuts they're the faces of it and every one of them represents the tens of millions of american [20:09] families benefiting from all these pro-growth pro-worker policies again this is just a small sample [20:15] and as we noted it doesn't matter if you're republican or democrat or independent every american got a [20:20] tax cut the largest tax cut in u.s history why because elections have consequences okay you you have to [20:29] like to be able to do this that's right and the results of this legislation quickly are already [20:35] varying out here's just a few dollars ten thousand dollars that's the increase in annual take-home [20:40] pay for the typical working family that's the average and some have much higher 15 that's the average [20:46] tax cut for a family earning between fifteen thousand and eighty thousand dollars annually thirty [20:53] four hundred dollars that's the value of the average tax refund for this year's file as you've heard [20:58] and that's the biggest refund american taxpayers have seen in decades how did we do that we started [21:04] by following a straightforward approach simplify the tax code reduce the tax burden on families [21:10] and advance the policy agenda that rewards hard work and puts working and middle class families first [21:18] these were our three guiding tenets but really we can boil the strategy down to just two words it's called [21:22] common sense okay republicans have adopted an agenda of common sense across every area of public policy [21:30] and democrats by stark contrast have adopted a very different set of policies and politics [21:37] theirs is described by one word crazy okay from new york to california democrats are proposing some of [21:43] the most anti-growth anti-american policies in the history of our tax code they want to raise your taxes [21:49] because they want government to grow to spend more recklessly and families are literally fleeing [21:55] those blue states because of that the contrast really couldn't be any clearer while republicans are [22:00] cutting taxes for families for lower and middle class hard-working americans democrats are trying to [22:06] raise those taxes while republicans are making it easier to build and invest in america democrats want [22:12] to return to the policies that shift american jobs overseas while republicans are working to make [22:17] everyday life easier and more affordable democrats want to go back to the nightmare of economics it's [22:25] common sense versus crazy y'all louisiana and this next season the american people are seeing the real [22:31] and positive change of republicans common sense leadership that is making their lives better we're [22:37] going to continue this and that's why we're going to have a great midterm election that defies history [22:43] with that i'll take a few of your questions [23:03] listen um i i'm not going to criticize uh uh clerics and and um religious leaders we we defend free speech [23:10] we certainly defend the right to the free exercise of religion and um you know a pontiff or any [23:16] religious leader can say anything they want but obviously if you wade into political waters i think [23:20] you should expect some political response and i think the post received some of that um you know [23:25] i was taking a little bit of back just honestly frankly but um something that was said i think [23:30] he said several days back that um something about those who engage in war you know that jesus doesn't [23:35] hear their prayers or something um you know it is a very well settled matter of christian theology [23:41] there's something called the just war doctrine there's a time to every purpose under heaven [23:45] i think what the president's comments what the vice president's comments reflect is [23:49] their understanding deep and the you know the skiff and and the classified briefings of the stakes that [23:55] are so high the situation that we're facing and the fact that you had the the nation that was the [23:59] largest sponsor of terrorism um now having had that ability taken away from them that means [24:07] potentially millions of innocent people will be able to keep their lives and not be killed by [24:13] terrorists that's a good thing uh that's what's coming out of the theological debate with the pope [24:20] i certainly respect the pope i would just say that these are matters that that people of good [24:25] faith and good sense can debate and think through and i think that's what that reflects [24:28] the speaker speaker thank you so much dhs funding just want to get an update on that [24:33] in the respects of with the house freedom caucus negotiations going there yes with regard to the [24:39] funding of the department of homeland security um we are now in the longest shutdown in u.s history [24:45] partial as it is it's a very serious one democrats have decided to play political games and do this [24:50] once again last fall we had the longest in history they broke their own records shamelessly [24:54] um and shamefully to from our perspective but here's where we are um the department of homeland [25:00] security i'll remind you is the third largest department of the federal government it has 10 [25:03] agencies beneath it and all of them have one thing in common they keep all of us safe they keep the [25:07] american people safe the democrats have decided they don't want to have any part of funding your [25:11] safety anymore as shocking as that is they have refused to fund two major components that is the [25:18] border which was the number one issue in the 2024 election i'll remind everyone border security and [25:23] they refuse to fund any enforcement of our immigration and customs law that means republicans [25:29] have to do it on our own for the first time in history shamefully the democrats do not want to [25:35] participate in taking care of those functions of government so we're going to have to do a skinny [25:39] reconciliation package as it's called here um and all and it's going to come from the senate they're [25:43] working that very aggressively we expect to have that uh in our hands sent over to the house probably by [25:49] middle to the end of next week we're going to move it as expeditiously as possible we're going to do [25:53] our part and fund the uh those essential functions of the government and then we'll do the rest of [25:59] homeland security and the reason that we spiked it and the reason when it sent over last time and the [26:03] reason i said it was nonsense because it was concocted in the middle of the night and sent over to us [26:08] and it zeroed out funding for those two essential functions i just named and we couldn't go along with [26:12] that we have to make sure that those functions are funded and then we'll do the rest of that job but [26:18] the democrats have done this to the american people i'm grateful for president trump and his leadership [26:23] he signed executive orders and an order that all of the 260 000 plus employees of the department of [26:29] homeland security are being paid now thankfully but those uh resources are not um not infinite they're [26:36] going to run out very soon and we got to get this job done quickly and i expect that will happen [26:41] obviously there have been two members who have resigned over the last 24 hours because of the [26:46] alleged proprieties staffers what more can the house do to protect staffers who work in this building [26:55] yeah the question is uh what more could the house do to protect staffers from predators you didn't say [27:01] that i said look did the some of the allegations that have been made and apparently some of the [27:06] facts that are coming out to verify those allegations are shocking to us as they are to all of you [27:11] um and they must be addressed you know we we've tightened up ethics uh rules and and the laws that [27:17] apply here and will continue to be as aggressive as possible to make sure this doesn't happen we will [27:22] bring uh exact punishment upon those who violate that that that secret obligation they have to to be a [27:30] good steward and a boss over their staffs and to not use that position uh for that kind of um a terrible [27:35] activity i don't know what else to say about it other than it's detestable i'm very grateful that [27:40] representative swalwell decided to resign quickly uh as you know uh democrat did and then a republican [27:46] did um representative gonzalez um and and uh we're going to continue to police this as aggressively as [27:52] we can i will say that the house ethics committee has been one of the most involved uh busy committees [27:58] in congress and they they are around the clock investigating allegations against members that is the [28:03] new process is important everyone when an allegation is made they go into the uh the process it's [28:09] bipartisan by design and it has worked well and um and some of those investigations are ongoing i'll [28:14] note next week there's another democrat sheriff eliza mcgormick will be to a sentencing hearing [28:19] uh on tuesday of next week through the house ethics committee they investigated and gave her so much [28:24] due process that it took more than two years because she resisted it i expect that they will come [28:29] forward with a with a recommended punishment for the um congress and i i suspect that that may be [28:34] expulsion in my view that would be uh appropriate there and she's had all the investigation and the [28:39] facts have worn out apparently she is um she has stolen uh fema funds i mean think of it you know [28:45] the embezzlement of disaster relief funds by a member of congress that deserves expulsion it is a rare [28:51] a rare penalty it's only happened so far six times since 1789 but uh but but um these times call for [28:59] desperate measures right so we'll do that we'll police as well as we can and we will call on every [29:03] member of congress to to serve with the dignity of your office that is required and expected of you [29:10] we have to bring the um we have to bring the respect of the institution back after things like [29:14] this but we will we're on the job every day i want to thank y'all again happy next day [29:35] thank you [30:01] okay [30:05] thank you [30:35] thank you [31:05] thank you [31:38] thank you