Republicans announce new Senate GOP leadership

[0:00] going for it and do you worry that they're going to come after you the Trump administration is well [0:06] known for retribution but we need to fight check one two one two three four five six seven eight [1:24:22] nine ten yeah we'll just do the single mic up here he needs you don't leave us [1:28:37] that was the day of McCarthy election that never happened [1:29:25] mic check everybody ready mic check mic check one two three four we're good mic check you're good [1:30:01] yeah I mean I think she'll certainly want it lower to begin with she will yes I mean she's [1:30:07] definitely gonna have a step so okay yeah [1:30:37] so I've heard about this yes I know about this [1:30:46] I will all right [1:30:48] but she's great [1:30:56] that's on [1:30:57] I'm more likely [1:31:01] yes [1:31:12] yes [1:31:15] yes [1:31:28] yes [1:31:30] yes [1:31:32] yes [1:31:36] okay [1:31:40] yeah [1:31:41] yeah [1:31:42] Thank you. [1:32:24] Thank you. [1:33:10] Thank you. [1:33:45] Thank you. [1:33:47] Thank you. [1:33:51] Thank you. [1:33:53] Thank you. [1:33:55] Thank you. [1:33:57] Thank you. [1:33:59] Thank you. [1:34:04] Thank you. [1:34:08] Thank you. [1:34:10] Thank you. [1:34:12] We appreciate it. [1:34:16] Thank you. [1:34:18] Thank you. [1:34:20] Thank you. [1:34:22] Thank you. [1:34:24] Thank you. [1:34:26] Thank you. [1:34:28] Thank you. [1:34:30] Yeah, yeah, yeah, I got you, yeah, yeah, yeah, okay, okay, yes, yes, the closed door voting, [1:34:46] yeah, the actual voting, this morning was like the campaigning, and then now is the voting. [1:34:52] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6. [1:35:26] Not bad. [1:35:33] Not bad. [1:36:22] Good to be with you. [1:36:23] It's decision time right now for House Republicans. [1:36:25] They are voting behind closed doors, and they are going race by race. [1:36:30] And really, truly, members are not giving away, many of them, not giving away which they're voting today in these leadership elections. [1:36:38] House Speaker Mike Johnson came out and spoke to us a short time ago and said he urged the conference to act quickly. [1:36:55] 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2. [1:37:29] Richmond, Nathaniel Moran tells me he's backing Scalise. [1:37:42] And down the ballot, Tom Emmer and August Luker are competing for WIP, but Moran is backing Luker, [1:38:02] and plans to deliver his nominating speech, arguing that Republicans need to overhaul their floor operation. [1:38:09] And then there's a three-way race for Republican Conference. [1:38:13] Chair between Lisa McLean and Erin Couchen and Greg Stubing told me that she is Switzerland when it comes to this [1:38:19] the Lisa Jordan contest. [1:38:20] So Johnson, of course, says that they need to have this leadership speech in place in the next couple hours. [1:38:27] Certainly, whoever leaves the party is going to have the same challenges, Patricia, to not only unify [1:38:34] and again, you know, be able to unify members that are going to now be in the minority, but to also deliver a return to the majority in 2028. [1:39:03] Check, check, one, two. [1:39:04] Mic check. [1:39:05] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. [1:39:09] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. [1:39:15] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six. [1:39:18] Yeah. [1:39:20] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. [1:39:24] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. [1:39:33] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six. [1:39:43] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. [1:40:12] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. [1:40:17] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. [1:40:26] It's not the cable. [1:40:27] Mic check, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, 10. [1:40:37] Mic check. [1:40:37] One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. [1:40:40] Okay. [1:40:57] One, two, three, four. [1:42:26] Yep, I got you. [1:43:22] Yep, one, two, three, four, five. [1:43:35] Oh, right now? [1:43:37] How can you see me? [1:43:44] Oh, yeah. [1:43:46] I'm getting ready for my life. [1:43:52] Yeah, I do. [1:44:05] Guillermo just sent these. [1:44:14] No, Guillermo just told me he could see me. [1:44:34] Send that to the fans. [1:44:35] Who said that? [1:44:42] Oh, yeah. [1:44:45] I like the fans. [1:44:46] Yeah. [1:44:47] See her face. [1:44:59] Zoom in on her face. [1:45:02] Yeah, well, her name is on the stand. [1:45:07] Yeah. [1:45:10] Oh, my goodness. [1:45:14] Gosh. [1:45:15] She's the biggest baby from the world. [1:45:24] What? [1:45:52] Okay. [1:45:52] Okay. [1:45:52] Okay. [1:45:56] Okay. [1:46:04] Okay. [1:46:05] Okay. [1:46:06] Okay. [1:46:08] Okay. [1:46:09] festivals. [1:46:10] Yeah. [1:46:46] Yeah. [1:46:47] Okay. [1:47:06] Thank you. [1:47:29] Okay. [1:47:43] Thank you. [1:48:50] Okay. [1:48:51] Thank you. [1:49:30] Thank you. [1:50:21] I sure did in one, two, three, four, five. [1:51:04] Thank you for having me. [1:51:36] Thank you. [1:51:40] Thank you. [1:51:44] Yep. [1:51:46] Mic drop. [1:52:04] Fantastic. [1:52:08] Thank you. [1:52:10] It wasn't even like I was looking at her. [1:52:26] I was actually like, those are really good actually. [1:52:28] Thank you. [1:52:29] She's got her photos up. [1:52:30] He caught me. [1:52:31] Yeah. [1:52:32] I will. [1:52:33] Oh gosh. [1:52:34] Are you AP? [1:52:35] Yeah. [1:52:36] What's your name? [1:52:37] Jacqueline. [1:52:38] Hi. [1:52:39] Hi. [1:52:40] Hi. [1:52:41] I Nick coisa. [1:52:42] We don't use yourと have... [1:52:43] Which photo credit? [1:52:44] Kilmany walking. [1:52:46] Kilmany Deep Park. [1:52:47] That is where I started my career, with the Associated Press. [1:52:48] AP television. [1:52:49] Yeah. [1:52:50] Alright. [1:52:51] Alright. [1:52:52] from you know Sarah Gillespie up at the top or anybody I'm going to tell her everybody's nailing it [1:52:58] Nico yeah yeah yeah yeah Nico Melny he's uh he's great but I know on the photo side it's different [1:53:08] uh Swain Hall I don't suppose it's still there anymore he just retired okay I was in the New York [1:53:14] era so I knew Swain I know John Mancillo yeah he's great yeah oh really yeah like but I think [1:53:21] yeah I did so many like protests with everybody and the stills photos folks were always my best [1:53:35] friends in the field because you guys always know where to be like yeah [1:53:56] here we go [1:53:58] thank you [1:54:32] Bob Katrina good to be with you it is this evening time right now for House Republicans [1:55:30] they are back behind closed doors after their deliberations this morning and they're going [1:55:35] through each ballot one by one certainly House Speaker Mike Johnson who spoke to us earlier is [1:55:41] pushing for the conference to make a decision quickly but the biggest battle is between Steve [1:55:57] Scalise and Jim Jordan for minority leader with roughly 82 votes needed to win Scalise's pitching [1:56:03] experience and a pass back to the majority while Jordan is making the case for fresh leadership [1:56:08] Scalise sounding optimism arriving here this morning Texas Congressman Daniel Moran telling me he's backing [1:56:37] Scalise all right down the ballot Tom Emmer and August Pflueger are competing for WIP [1:56:56] as Miranda's backing Pflueger and plans to deliver his nominating speech arguing Republicans need to [1:57:01] overhaul their floor operation and then there's a three-way race for conference chair between Lisa [1:57:06] McLean, Erin Houchen, and Greg Stubbe. McLean told me that she's Switzerland when it comes to the Scalise [1:57:12] Jordan contest. Now Johnson says Republicans will probably have their leadership team in the next couple of [1:57:18] hours here but it's obviously going to be the same same challenge uniting to divide this party and trying [1:57:23] to put back a majority for 2028 but really not a lot of indications right now Bob and Katrina of which way [1:57:29] these races are going to go. Back to you. [1:57:39] Thank you. Appreciate it. [1:57:44] Jordan one? Oh my god. [1:57:47] Is that being reported everywhere? [1:57:48] Do you see one of the things? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [1:57:51] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [1:57:53] I can, I can probably... [1:57:56] I can probably... [1:57:57] I'll shoot for you. [1:57:58] I'll get that sat at me. [1:58:03] Okay. [1:58:15] Hey guys, can you still hear me? [1:58:37] No, we're just talking. [1:58:40] Okay. [1:58:46] Hey, I have an independently confirmed. [1:58:56] It's widely reported that he has won. [1:58:59] I'm trying to confirm it now but not sure if you want to come back to me or not. [1:59:07] Okay, copy, copy. I'll call you back. [1:59:08] Okay. [1:59:09] Okay, bye. [1:59:10] Give me. [1:59:13] Here. [1:59:17] Okay. [1:59:24] Jim Jordan. [1:59:27] . [1:59:40] Yeah, I niress. [1:59:40] Can you see theред for aInsp. [1:59:44] I'm texting everyone I know right now. [2:00:34] I'm trying to confirm it right now with everyone I know. [2:00:42] I can't independently confirm it right now, but obviously everybody's reporting it. [2:00:46] Did you do that properly? [2:00:47] No, it's fine. [2:00:54] No, we're locked in right now. [2:00:56] We have a new plan. [2:00:58] If they want to do it, do it in a shirt. [2:01:00] But I think we have to keep the race graphics. [2:01:02] I can drop spots if you want, but we can't make too many adjustments. [2:01:06] We're not in business for that right now. [2:01:09] We're waiting for a pressure, you know what I mean? [2:01:12] We're developing and moving, so, okay. [2:01:22] Go ahead. [2:01:24] Go ahead and take it. [2:01:25] Yep. [2:01:27] I'm going to be sitting there. [2:01:28] No, well, you can't sit there right now because I'm doing my live shot right now. [2:01:30] And I've been here since 8 a.m., so. [2:01:36] I will allow the school to be here so that you guys can sit there when the press conference is going. [2:01:41] Okay. [2:01:42] So, but I can't do that right now when I have a live shot. [2:01:45] Is somebody calling us right now? [2:01:51] These are mobile cameras. [2:02:21] Yes, but guys, we're not recording this until we confirm it ourselves. [2:02:30] Hold on, let me just, let me, let me talk to, okay. [2:02:42] Do you want me to hand it to Politico? [2:02:48] Okay, great, great, great, great, because they're wanting me to get back up, so I just didn't [2:03:09] want to do it without you guys. [2:03:13] Okay, great, great, all right. [2:03:20] Okay, Nat does, Nat, no, I haven't confirmed it. [2:03:23] Nat doesn't just connect it to us. [2:03:25] I think we're coming to us shortly. [2:03:26] I'm going to say he's reportedly just heard that both needed to be connected to you after. [2:03:31] Okay, okay, cool. [2:03:33] Hey guys, A-U-1-2, can we hit that really fast? [2:03:40] Okay. [2:03:41] Okay, let's go. [2:03:42] Thank you. [2:03:58] Okay, okay. [2:04:00] Thank you. [2:04:31] Good to be with you. Jim Jordan has reportedly right now secured the votes needed for House Minority Leader. So all signs right now point to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan as the next Minority Leader for Republicans. This is a really big deal because this signals change that was within the GOP. Obviously they have been digesting these midterm losses and they want a change in direction. [2:04:59] They want somebody outside of immediate leadership. House Majority Leader Steve Steliz had been pushing very hard for this. Certainly members that we had spoken with this morning had been putting their support behind him. [2:05:10] But this really signals a different direction for the party. And obviously Jim Jordan has been somebody that has been very integral to the House investigations happening on both sides of the political aisle. [2:05:22] He's certainly somebody that's going to be a strong leader to go up against Democrats who plan investigations against the Trump administration, the Trump family, and certainly cabinet members that we're seeing now. [2:05:37] So they're going to continue to go down the ballot. This is all happening right now behind closed doors. They still have to decide others including House Minority Whip, Conference Chair. These are races that are again going to be contested. [2:05:52] So there's going to be a number of other ballots. So right now we're awaiting a press conference when they do wrap up this process. But right now we can report that Jim Jordan has reportedly secured the votes needed at the next House of GOP and Minority Leader, Krisha. [2:06:13] Thank you. [2:06:18] Thank you. [2:06:48] Testing, testing. [2:07:00] Is it in the headphones? [2:07:17] Hey, okay, we're trying to connect to you guys right now and then I can get up. [2:07:21] Okay. [2:07:22] I think you can tell them to try to talk with me. [2:07:23] Yeah, yeah, yeah. [2:07:24] Nicole said she can talk it on her end. So, okay, cool. Okay, cool. Okay, cool. Thanks. [2:07:28] Okay, no worries. [2:07:29] Hey, we're connecting to AA right now. We just broke it on N2 and we're going to hit N1 now. [2:07:33] Okay, thanks. No worries. [2:07:34] Check, check, check, check. Can anybody hear me? Yep, I got you guys. Yep. [2:07:45] Yeah. [2:07:46] One, two, three, four, five. Okay. Okay, now I do. Yeah. Talk one more time. Yep, yep. No problem. [2:07:53] Good, thank you. [2:07:54] Good, thank you. [2:07:55] I don't think that we do. Okay, wait. [2:08:01] Okay, wait. [2:08:02] You're good. [2:08:03] Sorry. [2:08:04] Say that one. [2:08:05] Sorry. [2:08:06] Say that one. [2:08:07] Yeah. [2:08:08] Yeah. [2:08:09] Yeah. [2:08:10] One, two, three, four, five. [2:08:11] Okay. [2:08:12] Okay, now I do. [2:08:20] Yeah. [2:08:22] Talk one more time. [2:08:23] Yep, yep. [2:08:27] No problem. [2:08:48] Good, thank you. [2:08:49] I don't think that we do. [2:08:54] Okay, wait. [2:08:56] Sorry. [2:08:57] Say that one more time. [2:09:03] Yeah. [2:09:04] Yeah, exactly. [2:09:05] And we understand that Jim Jordan secured maybe about over 100 votes, so it wasn't necessarily [2:09:48] a close or a tight vote in this, but again, in any election, change is always a very powerful [2:09:54] message, and certainly what this signals for the entire Republican conference is that they [2:09:59] want something different. [2:10:00] How Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan has led major investigation for the Republicans [2:10:05] as they have been in the majority, certainly, you know, getting back to sort of the Biden [2:10:11] administration and Hunter Biden and the so-called weaponization of the Justice Department [2:10:16] of the Biden administration, and he's continued to pursue a lot of this corruption. [2:10:21] Corruption was a powerful message that we saw in the midterms, and I think what we're [2:10:26] hearing from the conference with this decision right now is that they don't want the current [2:10:32] leadership that's been in place. [2:10:34] House Majority of Chiefs believe this is someone that is widely respected throughout the conference, [2:10:39] but again, this is something that while they are dissecting these midterm losses and [2:10:44] what went wrong, this is about a change of direction and pace, and certainly Jim Jordan has [2:10:49] secured those votes. [2:10:50] I think they're continuing to go down the ballot. [2:10:52] This is a secret ballot. [2:10:53] It all takes place behind closed doors. [2:10:56] So we're getting that information from certainly members and staffers inside that room about how [2:11:02] this is all shaking out, and all of this is going to play a huge role in how they battle [2:11:08] Democrats in the minority and how they shape their agenda and their argument for 2028 in two years [2:11:15] from now, and they try to again regain the upper hand after these losing losses. [2:11:21] Katrina's body. [2:11:22] I think you hit on something that is very important here. [2:11:59] A lot of members do believe that Jim Jordan is a fighter as far as that is concerned. [2:12:05] He's certainly tough, but he's also diplomatic, and people believe, again, that in many matters [2:12:11] he is fair. [2:12:12] You know, especially when it comes to, we can see obviously with what House Speaker Mike Johnson [2:12:18] did with this narrow majority, you know, this is obviously a lot quicker than the results [2:12:24] of several years ago when I was standing here and they were trying to get Kevin McCarthy [2:12:28] to the top of the ballot. [2:12:30] But this is a rematch three years in the making. [2:12:34] They had changed off before for, again, this race for leadership, and Jim Jordan has emerged [2:12:40] here as victorious in all of this. [2:12:43] But certainly his work and his efforts as the House Judiciary Committee Chairman are going [2:12:48] to be very important on going in and fighting a democratic narrative, again, of not only the [2:12:55] referendum that voters put on. [2:12:57] Ladies and gentlemen, I think it's now public. [2:12:59] I think everybody's got the information. [2:13:01] Jim Jordan was elected speaker-elect. [2:13:04] And so now we're in the minority leader. [2:13:05] Minority leader. [2:13:06] I'm sorry. [2:13:07] And we're now doing the whip count. [2:13:08] Okay. [2:13:09] Okay. [2:13:10] Yep. [2:13:11] We're doing that right now. [2:13:12] Yep. [2:13:13] All right. [2:13:14] So we are. [2:13:15] Jim Jordan. [2:13:16] Okay. [2:13:18] So they've officially announced here at the podium. [2:13:20] Jim Jordan. [2:13:21] Speaker-elect. [2:13:22] Minority leader. [2:13:23] Minority leader. [2:13:24] I'm sorry. [2:13:25] We're now on the whip count. [2:13:26] Yeah. [2:13:27] We're now on the whip count. [2:13:28] Yeah. [2:13:29] We're now on the whip count. [2:13:30] Yeah. [2:13:31] We're now on the whip count. [2:13:32] Yeah. [2:13:33] So we'll probably find out that's going to be. [2:13:36] 73. [2:13:37] Yeah. [2:13:38] Yep. [2:13:39] Thanks, guys. [2:13:40] Thank you. [2:13:48] I thought we were going to have more. [2:13:50] I thought we were going to have more. [2:13:51] Sorry. [2:13:52] I was like, oh, let's find out more. [2:13:53] Okay. [2:13:54] Thanks. [2:13:55] Thanks. [2:13:56] Thank you, guys. [2:13:58] Okay. [2:13:59] Stand by. [2:14:11] Yep. [2:14:12] Thank you. [2:14:13] Thank you. [2:14:14] Thank you. [2:14:15] Thank you. [2:14:16] Thank you. [2:14:17] Thank you. [2:14:18] Thank you. [2:14:19] Thank you. [2:14:20] Thank you. [2:14:21] Thank you. [2:14:22] Thank you. [2:14:23] Thank you. [2:14:24] Thank you, Amy. [2:14:25] Thank you. [2:14:27] Thank you. [2:14:28] Thank you, Amy. [2:14:29] Thanks, I'm R. [2:14:30] Hey. [2:14:31] What? [2:14:32] I did it. [2:14:33] Standby. [2:14:34] respeit. [2:14:39] Should I hear any programming or? [2:14:40] I'll hear a toss before I go back. [2:14:43] 20 seconds, Scott. [2:14:44] So all of that and now we're only on the, [2:14:49] we're only on the whip now. [2:14:52] Okay, one, two, I'll go in there and cut it back. [2:15:17] I'm trying to think. [2:15:18] Maybe, yeah. [2:15:23] Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'll get at it. [2:15:29] Stand by. [2:15:31] Okay, what's our next one, brief? [2:15:33] Yeah, yeah. [2:15:48] Yeah, that's right. [2:15:54] Well, an aide with the House GOP conference confirmed that Jim Jordan, in fact, was just elected as House Minority Leader for the next Congress, [2:16:05] and we are told that that vote tally was 106 to 73. [2:16:10] Of course, this was a secret ballot. [2:16:12] We know Jim Jordan, who's currently the head of the House Judiciary Committee, was running against Steve Scalise, [2:16:17] who is number two currently in leadership, second in line after Mike Johnson, who is the majority leader. [2:16:24] Yeah. [2:16:25] So, look, this was a very difficult decision for a lot of members, a lot of hand-wringing, especially after this election, [2:16:32] but it really was a decision among these members about whether or not to kind of stay the court with their current leadership or opt for change. [2:16:41] In the case of Jim Jordan, he was a change candidate. [2:16:46] In his letter to members, he laid out that he felt that Republicans wouldn't necessarily have a clear plan. [2:16:53] He also talked about his role as head of the military committee that he felt that he was someone who could take on Democrats when it comes to oversight, [2:17:02] particularly if they decide to be very aggressive about investigating the Trump administration, [2:17:08] and so that is why he picked himself as what he said was a battle-tested candidate to serve as minority leader. [2:17:15] Now, leader Steve Scalise, for his part, made the argument that, look, he has done this job, he has run the conference as majority leader, [2:17:23] and in a variety of positions, and he knows this conference well, and that his sole number one goal was to help House Republicans win back the majority in 2018. [2:17:34] Both Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan acknowledged that the election lockers last week were staggering, [2:17:41] so they acknowledged that there is some rebuilding that has to take place, particularly in the minority, [2:17:47] but Steve Scalise made the argument to members that, you know, just because we are in the minority doesn't necessarily mean that we are powerless, [2:17:54] but clearly in this case, he lost his bid to be minority leader. [2:17:59] And instead, Jim Jordan now earning that position, there are still some other elections underway for other members on the leadership team, [2:18:06] so we should learn soon who the complete leadership team will be for House Republicans in January. [2:18:14] So, it's a great question. [2:18:45] Well, interestingly, they were all candidates for speaker after Kevin McCarthy was booted by the Alamie Gerns a few years ago, [2:18:56] and so from that standpoint, they all threw their name into the Hat at that time. [2:19:01] at that time, Steve Steliz, when he didn't get the votes, [2:19:05] then it was Oz and Jim Jordan, when he didn't get the votes, [2:19:08] you know, we went down the line [2:19:10] of several of a couple of the years before. [2:19:12] Ultimately, Mike Johnson was elected [2:19:14] to be the back of House Speaker. [2:19:16] And, you know, Mike Johnson was not with that yesterday [2:19:19] in a press scandal, and some of this has really been [2:19:22] quite the journey for him, you know, [2:19:24] where he was kind of grown from obscurity [2:19:27] into the most powerful position here [2:19:30] in the House of Representatives that he argued [2:19:33] and he tried to confess to serve the House Republican Congress [2:19:37] in the past, in the legislation, [2:19:39] when he was going to build a large attack [2:19:42] that's in the history, so he is very proud of the work [2:19:45] that Republicans probably would acknowledge [2:19:47] that yes, they did fall short. [2:19:49] So he thought that's due to Mike Johnson [2:19:52] as someone who really had to thread the needle [2:19:54] between different factions in the Congress [2:19:57] to try to get to yes on some of these major... [2:20:00] No, you're not. [2:20:02] ...to those who are out of the party lines [2:20:04] through that reconciliation process. [2:20:06] Jim Jordan, as you point out on the other hand, [2:20:08] it really is that firebrand, but I would also argue, [2:20:12] you know, to spend a lot of time on the campaign [2:20:14] for the last of the time, [2:20:16] and over the course of this campaign, [2:20:18] really stumping more House Republican candidates [2:20:20] that have been out there in a number of different states [2:20:23] for several weeks in the run-up to the election. [2:20:27] So he is also someone who has been very skilled [2:20:30] at raising funds as well, which is critical for anyone [2:20:33] who served as leader of their party as the chief justice. [2:20:36] So there's some similarities there in terms of their ability [2:20:39] to travel, to campaign, to raise money, [2:20:42] but in terms of their more public persona style, yes, [2:20:47] they're a little different in the sense that Jim Jordan [2:20:50] is certainly more of that firebrand, [2:20:53] to kind of take it to Democrats. [2:20:55] And again, as I mentioned in the letter, [2:20:57] that was kind of an argument that he made [2:20:59] that he was battle testing. [2:21:00] He is someone who can take on Democrats, [2:21:02] particularly in this area of oversight [2:21:06] that we hear Democrats talk about. [2:21:08] They want accountability when they take [2:21:10] and they are making Congress next year. [2:21:13] So that's just kind of a sense of the dynamic [2:21:15] of these two men, but certainly, again, [2:21:18] many members here today felt with Jordan [2:21:21] was a better choice in terms of selecting him [2:21:23] as their next language candidate. [2:21:58] Well, I think it really runs with him at hand. [2:22:00] I think it's still what requires more of a discussion [2:22:03] that we can't figure this out [2:22:04] in a two, three, four hour meeting, right? [2:22:07] I mean, you can look over on the Senate side right now [2:22:09] and that is the discussion that Senate Republicans [2:22:12] are having in earnest about what went wrong [2:22:14] in the election. [2:22:15] They're supposed to be electing their leaders [2:22:17] and they simply couldn't. [2:22:18] They had to kind of put their discussion on hold [2:22:21] because so many people had things to say [2:22:24] during their meetings. [2:22:25] They weren't able to take an expeditious vote. [2:22:28] They actually had to pause and recess [2:22:31] before coming back for a broader discussion [2:22:34] and potentially as they were in the vote. [2:22:36] So this is nothing that will be solved overnight, [2:22:39] if you will, but I think on the part of Republicans, [2:22:43] we don't get to terms of what Senator Johnson [2:22:45] can feel that Republicans miss him at all. [2:22:48] I feel that he told me in fact, [2:22:51] asked him specifically because throughout the campaign, [2:22:54] he said many times that he felt that the Democratic Democrats [2:22:58] have had to make a pause and they were wrong. [2:23:01] They were policing and I asked him last night, [2:23:04] well, what did you miss? [2:23:05] And he continued to insist that he still believes [2:23:08] that some of those polls were wrong [2:23:09] and that propelled him from being undercounted in the data. [2:23:13] But at the end of the day, when they travel, [2:23:15] they didn't see the health issues on the ground. [2:23:17] And so he just acknowledged that Belgium [2:23:20] that some of these polls were off and he accepted [2:23:24] responsibility for, you know, what happened. [2:23:28] But that being said, again, [2:23:30] some of the Republicans are now in this building deal [2:23:32] and they've got to figure out what their priorities are. [2:23:34] I can tell you about the lame duck thing [2:23:36] that made clear on many Republicans [2:23:38] that they still want to get to the president [2:23:40] and try to get some legislation passed, [2:23:43] whether that's on border security [2:23:46] and trying to deliver there, maybe save that, [2:23:49] and try to get another reconciliation package [2:23:51] through the Congress before the end of the year. [2:23:54] Those are all things that some Republicans talked about. [2:23:57] But also, as we move ahead, again, into June the year, [2:24:00] I think there's still a lot of discussion about [2:24:02] how they can be the most respected minority going forward. [2:24:06] Understanding, again, that Democrats may be very aggressive [2:24:10] when it comes to this issue of accountability [2:24:12] and the potential of each other. [2:24:19] I think we'll have to hear from members [2:24:28] to see what their rationale was [2:24:30] or why they supported leader, you know, [2:24:33] Jordan over state relief. [2:24:36] But again, we will have to see how people came down on this [2:24:40] and why. [2:24:41] But as I mentioned, I think there was some real desire for change. [2:24:45] You know, if they are going to rebuild, [2:24:48] that maybe it was better to do that with someone [2:24:50] who has not been tied to the current leadership. [2:24:52] And that really would be able to leave Dale, if you will, [2:24:55] towards peace and peace. [2:24:56] Even though, yes, he has served in a number of leadership positions. [2:24:59] He knows this conference well and has good relationships [2:25:02] with many people here in the House Republican Conference [2:25:06] at the end of the day. [2:25:07] Again, it might not have been enough from the standpoint [2:25:10] of if you're going to fundamentally do things different, [2:25:13] you might want to go with a different candidate. [2:25:15] And again, that appears to be how many of these were [2:25:18] pretty pretty well. [2:25:19] I can't use the plan. [2:25:22] We're going to take it out, [2:25:23] but you are really excited. [2:25:24] I am going to walk away with a bit of an ongoing [2:25:25] way to do things like we're going to go, [2:25:26] on the next day. [2:25:28] So, I'm not going to go again. [2:25:30] We are going to go again, [2:25:31] and we're going to talk to you about a week or a half. [2:25:33] And then we're going to go out before, [2:25:34] yep, and we're going to get a week. [2:25:35] I'm going to go to the next five of these. [2:25:37] We're all going to get a week or two of the things [2:25:39] from the actual. [2:25:40] And then we'll go to work. [2:25:41] Up when we're going to get a week. [2:25:42] It's a week or two of the things [2:25:43] you'll get a week or three of the new [2:25:44] will get to be done. [2:25:45] If I think you can see the other thing out. [2:26:15] Okay, yeah, no I will, do you want me to keep the IP connected? [2:26:44] Okay, sounds good. [2:26:56] But I would think soon, because I think the other positions weren't as controversial. [2:27:04] So, just, no, no, we're totally fine. [2:27:21] Jordan's staff was hoping to put one of their . [2:27:25] Okay. [2:27:27] I'll ask her what she pulls back. [2:27:31] Okay, I'll slide her over. [2:27:33] Okay, cool. [2:27:35] Thank you. [2:27:38] I have a three o'clock glider if I can move it. [2:28:26] I can move it. [2:28:28] I can move it over here. [2:28:30] Yeah. [2:28:32] That's what we're saying. [2:28:34] Oh, yeah. [2:28:36] So. [2:28:46] What? [2:28:49] Okay. [2:29:14] Okay. [2:29:17] Okay. [2:29:22] Okay. [2:29:36] One, two, three, sorry, one, two, three, four, five, one, two, three, four, five. [2:31:57] Yep. [2:31:59] Okay. [2:32:32] So, Tom Emmer, he has majority of them. [2:32:47] But, but I haven't, I haven't seen the reports. [2:32:51] Yeah, yeah, yeah. [2:32:52] I'm just going to say, I'm, you know, Tom Emmer has now reportedly secured the, yeah. [2:33:05] I'll try to, yeah, I'll try to do this in the next two minutes, and then I'm trying to get it done. [2:33:39] Hey, guys, great, I'm glad we have another update for you guys. [2:33:47] So, okay, I'm seeing it in multiple places that Emmer has been elected to return its house majority with. [2:33:55] I told Dennis, I just called Dennis, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [2:34:04] All of those are just fine, yeah, yeah, those are, all of those are just fine to continue to talk around this. [2:34:25] Okay, great. [2:34:49] Okay, yes, guys, I've got, Dennis, Dennis, okay, no need to peg to report, I've confirmed it. [2:35:20] Yeah, confirmed, uh-huh, bye. [2:35:22] Yep, yep, I gotcha. [2:35:51] Katrina, good to have just a moment. [2:36:56] I can now confirm Newsmax has now independently confirmed that Tom Emmer will retain his position, [2:37:03] but now as minority whip. [2:37:05] This is going to be crucial to uniting the conference, and clearly this was a vote of confidence [2:37:11] and the job that he's already done during the 119th Congress, somebody that, again, can whip those votes [2:37:18] and unify surrounding the GOP conference agenda as they try to crawl back to the majority in the next two years. [2:37:26] Let's recap for our viewers what's happened in the last hour. [2:37:29] Jim Jordan has officially secured, again, the leadership position, House Minority Leader, [2:37:35] and that was a vote that was 160 to 73. [2:37:40] Jordan's victory, though, as you guys mentioned at the top, [2:37:43] signals a change in direction after Republicans lost the House. [2:37:47] A founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Jordan has built his reputation, [2:37:52] certainly around taking on Democrats during his position on the Judiciary Committee. [2:37:56] Now he's preparing to go on the offense as Democrats in Europe to investigate the Trump administration. [2:38:03] And, again, as we've just reported, Tom Emmer has won the race for Republican whip, [2:38:08] defeating Texas Congressman August Luger. [2:38:11] Emmer will serve as Jordan's number two, helping keep Republicans in line on key votes [2:38:16] as the party adjusts to life in the minority. [2:38:20] Now, one leadership fight is still outstanding right now. [2:38:23] Lisa McLean, Aaron Houchin, and Greg Stuby are battling it out for conference chair. [2:38:28] McLean obviously kept her cards very close to the best when talking about the overall leadership reach, [2:38:36] wanting to maintain neutrality in his role. [2:38:39] So we can certainly talk about the top two leadership teams, Jordan and Emmer. [2:38:44] This will be certainly significant. [2:38:47] And I think the question remains, will Jordan be able to unite the conference after this bruising loss in the midterms, [2:38:55] and will he be able to craft an agenda that will help them fall back to the majority? [2:39:01] I don't know if we're off or not. [2:39:31] Should I talk? [2:39:48] I lost the comms. [2:39:50] Did you guys ask me anything? [2:39:53] Sure, sure, I can. [2:39:54] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [2:39:55] Okay, okay, okay, I just can't hear it. [2:39:57] I don't have any sound, though. [2:40:03] Right, I know, but I don't have, I lost my audio during a hit, [2:40:07] so I'm not connected to the program anymore. [2:40:13] I think the, yeah, Dottie is trying to reestablish right now. [2:40:16] Okay, cool. [2:40:16] Okay, do it. [2:40:17] They want us back for a panel. [2:40:28] Are you guys going to want to do anything coming out of this presser? [2:40:32] Sorry. [2:40:43] Yeah. [2:40:43] Yep, yep, I'm back. [2:41:25] Yes. [2:41:30] Yes. [2:41:35] Probably why? [2:41:37] I do the... [2:41:43] Yeah. [2:41:57] Huh? [2:41:57] Oh, I'm the son of science. [2:42:03] I think that's an advanced administration, [2:44:16] but I think somebody that is fair and measured, [2:44:19] but as you mentioned, this was certainly a referendum [2:44:22] on where the party should go from here. [2:44:24] They want to change in direction. [2:44:26] I think what's interesting is that the whole process takes place via secret ballot. [2:44:31] How Speaker Mike Johnson was telling us he hopes that they make a decision [2:44:34] that they're going to rally around and unite the conference right now [2:44:40] to be able to push through what they want to accomplish in the lame duck session [2:44:44] and then regroup for how they're going to battle Democrats and the minority. [2:44:49] Certainly, this was a large vote of confidence when you look at that vote, Helen. [2:44:53] He got over 100 votes in this, [2:44:55] so we can't actually say by any stretch of the imagination this was closed, [2:44:58] but certainly they're wanting to put somebody on the offense [2:45:01] and they're going to be a fighter. [2:45:03] And obviously, the secret ballot process is not something that people have to voluntarily [2:45:07] give up their votes so that they can unite immediately after this. [2:45:53] Guys, I'm right here. [2:50:28] Hold on. [2:50:29] Okay, sorry, sorry. [2:50:34] Bianca, we have been getting all of this information from inside the room. [2:51:40] This is still a closed-door meeting and a secret ballot, [2:51:44] but obviously there have been leaks to the press about some of the results here. [2:51:48] The first one was obviously Jim Jordan's victory over Steve Scalise, [2:51:52] which was a rematch three years in the making. [2:51:54] As you mentioned, it wasn't really that close. [2:51:56] The final breakdown was 106 to 73, [2:51:59] signaling that the Republican conference wants a real change here. [2:52:03] Certainly, Jordan is viewed as somebody that is a fighter [2:52:06] who is a vocal on the offense. [2:52:08] We have seen, and you and I have covered extensively [2:52:10] this work on the House Judiciary Committee [2:52:13] with investigations dating back to the Biden administration, [2:52:17] leading a subcommittee on the so-called weaponization [2:52:19] in the federal government, [2:52:21] and certainly somebody that is fighting corruption, [2:52:23] a message that we heard from a lot of voters in the midterms [2:52:26] that were concerned about levels of corruption, [2:52:29] and that's going to be very much needed here [2:52:31] when Democrats launch these investigations [2:52:33] against President Trump, the Trump administration, [2:52:37] members of Trump's family, [2:52:38] and again, as we're seeing right now play out, [2:52:42] the Hexed St. Louis resolution [2:52:46] all being put forward by a Republican congressman, [2:52:49] an outgoing one in that. [2:52:51] So this is who the Republican conference [2:52:54] is putting their vote of confidence in. [2:52:56] So this signals a deviation from the establishment [2:52:59] and the leadership. [2:53:01] Now we also saw, however, [2:53:03] that Tom Amher has retained his position [2:53:06] as the Republican Whip, [2:53:08] but this is going to be in the minority. [2:53:10] This is going to be a united even smaller conference, [2:53:13] we have a smaller number of lawmakers here, [2:53:16] and that will be very significant. [2:53:18] He beat out August Luger for this race, [2:53:22] the chair of the Republican study committee, [2:53:24] somebody who's also very well liked on Capitol Hill [2:53:28] and very respected, [2:53:30] somebody who has broken down these issues [2:53:32] in granular detail, [2:53:34] has met with various cabinet members, [2:53:36] and also is known to be somebody [2:53:37] that unites the conference. [2:53:39] But Tom Amher took the victory over that. [2:53:42] Now what we're waiting on is essentially [2:53:44] the House Republican conference chair. [2:53:47] Lisa McLean is the current chair of the party, [2:53:50] and she is going up against Aaron Couchen [2:53:52] and for Congressman Greg Stewie. [2:53:55] We understand that that secret ballot is happening now. [2:53:58] And there's a few other races, [2:53:59] and then they're going to presumably come out here [2:54:01] and give us an update [2:54:02] on where the party will go from here [2:54:05] and the choices they have made in the leadership. [2:54:08] But I think the process of this being a secret ballot [2:54:11] is very significant given the fact that, you know, [2:54:14] they don't want to have hurt feelings at the end of this [2:54:16] because they need to be able to unite and do their job. [2:54:20] So we're at the podium up here. [2:54:22] We're waiting for some updates, [2:54:23] some normal updates, [2:54:25] not straight from, again, the candidates themselves. [2:54:28] I'm sure maybe first out of the gate [2:54:30] we'll be hearing from Jim George [2:54:31] about how he plans to unite the conference with him, [2:54:34] George, [2:54:35] about how he plans to reach George in 2020. [2:54:39] Did he even win? [2:54:39] No. [2:54:40] He didn't even call a single member. [2:54:41] He didn't call a single member. [2:54:42] He didn't call a single member. [2:54:44] He didn't call a single member. [2:54:45] No. [2:54:46] He didn't call a single member. [2:54:47] He didn't even do that. [2:54:48] He just tweeted. [2:54:49] I'm running at any time. [2:54:50] He's going that one. [2:54:52] I'm sure. [2:54:53] He's lost. [2:54:55] He's restarted. [2:54:59] Yes. [2:54:59] Oh. [2:55:00] Do you remember stuff? [2:55:01] It's Julia and I are? [2:55:02] Yeah, I don't know. [2:55:03] Yeah. [2:55:04] Yeah. [2:55:04] Yeah, and this is just going to be a procedural vote, Bianca, [2:55:17] and we're looking for our viewers to know [2:55:19] that this isn't going to be impeachment itself, [2:55:22] but this is certainly going to dictate [2:55:25] where this effort goes from here. [2:55:27] It could very well die. [2:55:29] There could be certainly a motion to table, [2:55:31] or this could be referred to the committee. [2:55:34] What happened this evening throughout this procedural [2:55:37] hurdle, though, will be very much an indication of whether [2:55:40] this effort put forward by Republican Congressman Thomas [2:55:44] is successfully laid out some great detail yesterday. [2:55:47] These things were all in everything from what [2:55:49] it seems to be of violations of congressional authorization [2:55:53] from the border on to these right [2:55:56] on this election, both in the Meridian, [2:55:58] and that's retaliation that he believes the department [2:56:01] has exacted against Senator Mark Kelly. [2:56:05] What is going to be interesting to watch here is [2:56:08] Republicans that could potentially sign on to this, [2:56:11] and not the one that we would think. [2:56:13] You know, obviously we know that retiring Republicans [2:56:16] are a little bit more outspoken, [2:56:18] but we could potentially see some votes from Republicans [2:56:22] who've narrowly won their election, [2:56:24] and we'll have to go on the record in a couple years [2:56:27] right now and see whether they continue to put their faith [2:56:30] in more Secretary Pete typesets [2:56:32] if the administration considers . [2:56:35] they say . [2:56:59] No wonder your pictures come so late. [2:57:02] Why did you explain to Robron? [2:57:04] Oh, no, no, no, no, no, okay, okay. [2:57:35] No, no, no. [2:57:38] No, no, no. [2:57:40] Something like that. [2:57:45] No problem. [2:57:48] Okay. [2:57:50] We told you. [2:57:56] Yeah. [2:57:58] I need that. [2:57:59] Okay. [2:58:32] Thank you. [2:59:04] Thank you. [2:59:34] Thank you. [2:59:36] Thank you. [2:59:41] Thank you. [2:59:46] Thank you. [2:59:48] Thank you. [2:59:49] Thank you. [2:59:55] Thank you. [2:59:57] Thank you. [3:00:04] Thank you. [3:00:06] Thank you. [3:00:08] Thank you. [3:00:15] Thank you. [3:00:17] Thank you. [3:00:19] Thank you. [3:00:20] Thank you. [3:00:21] Thank you. [3:00:30] Thank you. [3:00:32] Thank you. [3:00:33] Thank you. [3:01:06] Thank you. [3:01:42] Thank you. [3:02:22] Thank you. [3:02:58] Thank you. [3:07:26] Good afternoon. [3:07:27] Ladies and gentlemen, Joe Pacino with House Conference. [3:07:31] So we're going to hold the press conference, obviously, which is what we're kind of waiting [3:07:35] on here. [3:07:36] Once the Republican Policy Committee chair election is complete, the seven elects will [3:07:42] come out here. [3:07:44] We'll have three remarks from Minority Leader-elect Jim Jordan, Minority Whip-elect Tom Emmer, [3:07:49] and then House Republican Conference Chair Lisa McClain. [3:07:53] There'll be no questions. [3:07:54] They'll each make a speech, and then they will depart the area. [3:07:57] Okay? [3:07:59] Thanks. [3:07:59] It's happening. [3:08:02] No, they still have to get through the remaining four elections. [3:08:06] So the speaking order is here on the podium, if anybody's based on the timing. [3:08:39] When I think we're 30 minutes out. [3:08:42] Hey, so we still have the four remaining elections to get through, so if you anticipate the amount [3:08:55] of time it's taken thus far, I think it'll be between 40 minutes and an hour and 15 minutes [3:09:00] from now. [3:09:01] So when I think we're 30 minutes out, I'll come back out here. [3:09:05] Okay? [3:09:06] All right. [3:09:07] And then the speaking order, if you're interested, is up here. [3:09:11] And again, I'm sorry, just no questions. [3:09:13] We'll have three remarks, and then depart the area. [3:09:16] All right. [3:09:16] Thank you. [3:09:39] It's going to be Jim Jordan, Tom Emmer, and then Lisa McClain. [3:09:44] And then they're going to each give brief statements. [3:09:47] They're not going to take any questions, and then they're immediately leaving the area. [3:09:51] Yeah, and he'll give us a heads up when they're getting closer, too, so if you want to send [3:09:56] out like a little advisory on the presser. [3:09:59] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [3:10:01] Perfect. [3:10:03] Fab, no problem. [3:10:04] Okay. [3:10:04] Sounds like there's a lot of people. [3:10:12] We need to do that. [3:10:27] Yeah. [3:10:28] That is true. [3:10:33] Yep. [3:10:34] Interesting. [3:10:35] Okay. [3:10:42] Is that better? [3:10:47] Move it that way? [3:10:49] Move it this way? [3:10:57] Move it this way? [3:11:01] Move it that way for me. [3:11:02] Move it this way. [3:11:07] Is that better? [3:11:10] Yeah. [3:11:13] . [3:11:13] . [3:11:33] Yeah. [3:11:34] I'll talk to teacher. [3:11:39] . [3:11:39] . [3:11:40] . [3:11:41] and then they might have a front and top right [3:11:44] during your hour. [3:11:45] There's gonna be a quick brief statement. [3:11:47] It's gonna be a little bit, [3:11:49] then a couple of times, [3:11:51] then a couple of days, [3:11:52] and then they're reading about . [3:11:54] Yeah, I said that. [3:11:59] Yep, that is that. [3:12:00] Yep. [3:12:01] Okay, here we go. [3:12:03] Okay, thanks. [3:12:04] All the two, all the time. [3:12:05] I just wanted to ask you, [3:12:07] do I just want to go to the factory chain? [3:12:13] Thank you. [3:12:44] Thank you. [3:13:28] Can you hear here? [3:13:42] Okay. [3:13:44] And they'll be speaking longer. [3:13:47] Testing, one, two, three. [3:13:56] We need tape. [3:14:08] Testing, one, two, three. [3:14:26] I don't know why. [3:14:44] Yeah. [3:14:48] See it? [3:15:38] I bet that collected them all. [3:15:39] It says USA Today. [3:15:41] Do you want to brought that? [3:15:43] If you come back, yeah. [3:15:52] Small say. [3:16:07] I'm not sure. [3:16:08] I'm sure. [3:16:10] Literally. [3:16:11] Let's go. [3:16:16] There you go. [3:16:17] Up. [3:16:20] Up. [3:16:21] Up. [3:16:22] Up. [3:16:25] Up. [3:16:26] Up. [3:16:27] Up. [3:16:28] Up. [3:16:29] Up. [3:16:30] Up. [3:16:37] Up. [3:16:38] Up. [3:16:40] Up. [3:16:59] Up. [3:17:00] Up. [3:17:07] Up. [3:17:08] Up. [3:17:09] Up. [3:17:10] Up. [3:17:37] Up. [3:17:38] Up. [3:17:44] Up. [3:17:58] Up. [3:17:59] Up. [3:18:00] Up. [3:18:04] Up. [3:18:18] Up. [3:18:19] Up. [3:18:21] Up. [3:18:22] Up. [3:18:39] Up. [3:18:40] Up. [3:18:41] Up. [3:18:52] Up. [3:18:59] Up. [3:19:00] Up. [3:19:01] Up. [3:19:02] Up. [3:19:05] Up. [3:19:06] Up. [3:19:09] Up. [3:19:10] Up. [3:19:14] Up. [3:19:18] Up. [3:19:21] If you want to record the ad list, yeah, let's do it. [3:19:26] They were the top contenders. [3:19:34] Oh my gosh, I know, it hurts so bad. [3:20:29] Testing one, two, three, testing one, two, three, [3:20:32] testing one, two, three, testing one, two, three, [3:20:36] testing one, two, three, testing one, two, three. [3:20:46] Tell me if you want me to do another sound check. [3:20:48] Yeah, one of us can. [3:21:33] Sorry. [3:21:34] Just kidding. [3:21:37] Can we pull live and I turn it up? [3:21:41] Yeah, yeah, you're not going anywhere. [3:21:44] Oh, my name is . [3:21:46] We're gonna survive live with me in the minority. [3:21:49] I'm at the bottom now. [3:21:58] I'm just trying to pull out my . [3:22:05] Yeah, thank you. [3:22:07] My new script hasn't come in yet. [3:22:10] I'm thinking maybe there's no, here it is. [3:22:13] Sorry. [3:22:26] Yep. [3:22:28] Three, two, one. [3:22:35] After a bruising, midterm defeat, three, two, one. [3:22:38] Testing, testing. [3:22:40] One. [3:22:42] After suffering a bruising, three, two. [3:22:45] Should I wait till they're done testing? [3:22:48] Just one second. [3:22:49] Are you getting triggered as long? [3:22:51] Oh, no. [3:22:52] Okay, three, okay. [3:22:56] And one has . [3:23:02] Three, two, one. [3:23:04] Okay. [3:23:05] Testing, testing. [3:23:06] After suffering a bruising, midterm defeat, House Republicans have chosen a different direction. [3:23:09] Handing Jim Jordan, a victory over Steve Scalise in a vote, 106 to 73 with Tom Emmer and Lisa McLean helping navigate life in the minority. [3:23:27] Now, Jordan's victory signals a shift in direction after Republicans lost the House, a founding member of the Conservative Freedom Caucus. [3:23:37] Let's do it over here. [3:23:38] This is not. [3:23:39] Hold on one second. [3:23:40] This is data. [3:23:41] 106 to 73. [3:23:42] Okay. [3:23:43] Three, two, one. [3:23:44] After a bruising, midterm defeat, House Republicans have changed direction, handing Jim Jordan a victory, 106 to 73, over Steve Scalise, with Lisa McLean and Tom Emmer helping navigate life in the minority. [3:24:21] Jordan's victory signals a shift in direction after a bruising, 106 to 73, over Steve Scalise with Lisa McLean and Tom Emmer helping navigate life in the minority. [3:24:33] Jordan's victory signals a shift in direction after Republicans lost the House, a founding member of the Conservative House Freedom Caucus, Jordan built his reputation, taking on Democrats from the Judiciary Committee. [3:24:47] Now he's preparing to go on the offense, as Democrats here are up to investigate the Trump administration. [3:24:53] Tom Emmer has secured the number two leadership job, defeating Texas Congressman August Pflueger, a Republican whip. [3:24:59] Emmer will help Jordan keep Republicans united on key vote, as the party adjusts to life in the minority. [3:25:06] Lisa McLean has won the race for conference chair, defeating Erin Houchen and Greg Stubbe. [3:25:11] McLean told me earlier that she was Switzerland. [3:25:14] McLean told me earlier she was Switzerland in the Jordan Scalise showdown. [3:25:19] Now she'll help shape the Republican message as the party looks to regroup. [3:25:23] The question now is, the question now is, can this new team turn a Republican defeat into, the question now, can this new team turn a Republican defeat into a, my brain is dead right now. [3:26:08] The question now is, can this new team turn a Republican comeback? [3:26:21] I'm Kilmini Ducart reporting from Capitol Hill for Newsmax. [3:26:24] Let's send a head nod, just in case. Head nods, head nods. [3:26:57] I'm just sending head nods, just in case now, at the end, because you never know. [3:27:03] Testing, testing. [3:27:05] Very, very quiet. [3:27:23] Testing, testing. [3:28:26] Give me the wrong thing. [3:28:31] Okay, sorry, they want to talk to me. [3:29:07] Get in line. [3:29:10] Hello. [3:29:19] I don't hear anything yet, but it'll probably do. [3:29:42] Sure. [3:29:43] Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. [3:29:49] Okay, cool. [3:29:53] Thanks. [3:29:56] Is somebody calling us? [3:29:58] Yep, I got you guys, yeah. [3:30:00] Yep, one, two, three, four, five. [3:30:05] Very good. [3:30:06] Seth, how's it going? [3:30:15] I need to stand up here. [3:30:21] I can, I can if you want to back tag. [3:30:24] We had, Andy and I had divided on those, but I'm happy to talk about it, I can. [3:30:28] How about, you want me to just conclude my report with it, or start at the top with it? [3:30:33] I mean, I've been angled on just the house races, but if you want me to talk about it, I can. [3:30:50] Yeah, that'd be cool. [3:30:56] That, that would actually be cool because then it'll like look better as a back tag with Greta, and then she can talk to the side. [3:31:03] I like that. [3:31:04] It's cleaner. [3:31:05] No, I'm talking about, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying. [3:31:11] You have Greta back tag my report with the student update. [3:31:14] Yeah, I think that's cleaner. [3:31:17] Yes. [3:31:19] Yes. [3:31:21] Amen. [3:31:22] Yeah. [3:36:59] ...him navigating the lines chosen as somebody who could go on the offensive and certainly a fighter, [3:37:06] and that of course is being member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. [3:37:11] Jordan has built his reputation taking on Democrats in his role on the Judiciary Committee. [3:37:16] Now he's preparing to go on the offense as Democrats gear up for their investigations into the Trump administration. [3:37:23] Then you had Tom Ember, who secured the number two leadership job, defeating Texas Congressman August Pflueger for Republican Whip. [3:37:30] Ember will help Jordan against United on key votes as the party again adjusts to life in the minority. [3:37:37] Then Lisa McLean has won the race for conference chair, defeating Erin Houchen and Greg Fizzy. [3:37:42] McLean told me earlier that she was Switzerland when it came to the Jordan-Skilly showdown. [3:37:47] Now she'll help shape the Republican message as the party looks to regroup here. [3:37:52] Certainly one of the biggest questions here is can they unite and can they mount- [3:37:58] Test, test, test. [3:37:59] ...midterm defeat mount a Republican comeback. [3:38:02] We're going to be hearing- [3:38:03] Okay. [3:38:04] But it's connected. [3:38:05] Okay. [3:38:06] All right. [3:38:07] Hey. [3:38:08] choOh, well. [3:38:09] 20 minutes about 29 minutes 29 minutes [3:38:10] 20 minutes, about 20 minutes. [3:38:11] 20 minutes. [3:38:17] 20 minutes . [3:38:19] . [3:38:22] And then followed government claim. [3:38:24] They'll give brief statement quickly to the Senate side for Republican instead of [3:38:26] majority leader John Soon retaining his position. [3:38:28] All right. [3:38:29] It up after some delays. [3:38:30] And again the ballot to be postponed over on the Senate side. [3:38:39] He will be Minority Leader in this next conference. [3:38:40] Trump. [3:38:41] Thank you , wonderful. [3:38:50] Thank you. [3:38:53] I'll be there. [3:38:55] Yeah. [3:38:58] A hundred percent. [3:39:00] He just told me 20 minutes, but yeah, when it gets closer, I'll flag. [3:39:03] Okay. [3:39:04] No worries. [3:39:04] Thanks, guys. [3:39:05] Thank you. [3:39:37] Well, the new leadership team will be coming out here shortly. [3:40:00] They're wrapping everything up in there, and it was a great day for the House Republican [3:40:03] Conference. [3:40:04] I'm really excited for our team. [3:40:07] It's a great slate of candidates, and some extraordinary people were elected. [3:40:12] Jim Jordan will be the new Republican leader going into the 120th Congress. [3:40:16] I'll finish this up as speaker, wrapping up the assignment all the way through January [3:40:22] until the new Congress takes their oath of office January 3rd. [3:40:24] But Jim and I go back a long ways, and so do Steve Scalise and I. [3:40:29] I regard both of these men as more than colleagues and friends. [3:40:33] They're brothers to me. [3:40:35] Jim was a mentor of mine when I first came to Congress 10 years ago, and we worked alongside [3:40:41] one another all these years. [3:40:42] I was his right-hand man in judiciary before I was elevated to be Speaker of the House. [3:40:48] And, of course, he ran for Speaker the first time, and he's always been regarded as a leader [3:40:52] by the conference, and he's going to do an extraordinary job. [3:40:55] So there's good feelings in there. [3:40:58] Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan will both tell you that they are also very close friends and [3:41:03] brothers, and it was good feelings all around. [3:41:05] This conference, this Republican team, is ready for the fight, and they are encouraged. [3:41:11] They are unified, and I'm very excited about the days ahead. [3:41:15] We have a lot of work to do. [3:41:16] The Democrats who will be taking over in the majority, I fear, are going to run a very harmful [3:41:23] agenda for the American people. [3:41:24] I think they're going to do retribution. [3:41:26] I think they're going to spend endless hours and all the time in Congress investigating people [3:41:31] that are political foes, and that does not serve the American people. [3:41:35] They're going to do absolutely nothing to bring down cost or help on affordability or anything [3:41:39] that they claim to be running on. [3:41:41] That's my prediction. [3:41:42] I hope I'm wrong, but I think that's where we're headed. [3:41:45] Now, we've got a lot more work to do to wrap up and complete the 119th Congress and to [3:41:49] do it well. [3:41:50] There's a lot of big agenda items that are still out there, and we're going to work around [3:41:55] the clock here. [3:41:56] I certainly will and everyone on the House side to get our job done, and we hope that [3:42:01] particularly, let me be specific, Democrats in the Senate will assist in moving some of [3:42:07] the big legislation that is there. [3:42:08] You might have seen my comments yesterday, and we tabulated as of when we came back after [3:42:15] the election. [3:42:16] We passed, in this Congress, the Republicans leading the House, passed 1,000 measures across [3:42:21] the House floor. [3:42:22] 1,000 bills are over there in the Senate, and almost 700 of them, I think the number is [3:42:27] around 680 to be precise, are stacked in the hopper, as we call it. [3:42:32] They're just stacked up in the Senate awaiting action, and some of those are big, important [3:42:36] things, you know, big bills that have always traditionally been bipartisan. [3:42:40] Democrats in the Senate refused to do their job. [3:42:42] They refused to move, allow the legislation to move to the floor because the majority the [3:42:47] Republicans had was a small one. [3:42:50] They didn't want to give the President a win. [3:42:51] They didn't want to give Republicans a win going into the election, and that's a real shame [3:42:55] because they did not serve the American people. [3:42:56] So we'll see what they're going to allow to go through. [3:43:00] We are willing to work with anyone in good faith to get those important measures over the [3:43:04] line and to finish this Congress strong. [3:43:06] I'm really hopeful that we'll do that. [3:43:07] What's your advice, Mr. Speaker, what's your advice to Jim Jordan about keeping this sometimes [3:43:14] often very divided conference together, and how much more difficult will that be when [3:43:20] Republicans are in the minority? [3:43:21] Well, I talk to Jim about that a lot, and we just spoke in the back of the auditorium here [3:43:25] today about that. [3:43:27] I think this group will be unified. [3:43:29] It is, in a sense, I mean, you all know politics on Capitol Hill. [3:43:32] It is easier to keep a group together when you're in the minority. [3:43:35] It just is because you're opposing the legislative agenda, typically, of the majority party, and [3:43:40] there will be a lot to oppose in the upcoming Congress with these Democrats in charge. [3:43:45] So in a way, the job in that way is a little less complicated. [3:43:51] When you have a small margin and you're in the majority and you're expected to run an [3:43:54] aggressive legislative agenda, as we did, that is a complicated thing because you've got [3:43:59] to keep everybody there and keep them on board and get them to yes, and we did that. [3:44:02] And, you know, I mentioned yesterday in my remarks is in spite of the razor-thin margin [3:44:07] that we had in most of this Congress and in spite of the fact that we had just historic [3:44:11] levels of obstruction by the Democrats, as I mentioned, they shut the government down, [3:44:15] remember, three times. [3:44:16] They had the two longest shutdowns in U.S. history, 120 days in total. [3:44:20] They tried to obstruct everything we were doing, and yet we had this incredible record of [3:44:25] achievement in the 119th Congress, largest tax cut in U.S. [3:44:28] history for working and middle-class earners. [3:44:30] We had the largest spending cut in history, cutting fraud, waste, and abuse, and inefficient [3:44:35] government. [3:44:36] We brought in, you know, we brought back peace through strength and American energy dominance. [3:44:41] We secured the border tight. [3:44:42] All the big issues in 2024, we checked the boxes. [3:44:45] We added one million private sector jobs in the economy. [3:44:48] We brought about the lowest poverty rate in the history of that data being recorded. [3:44:53] We have the safest American streets, the lowest violent crime rate we've had in 126 years, [3:44:59] the most secure border in, I think, a half century. [3:45:02] We have Trump accounts for newborns. [3:45:04] We have reshoring of manufacturing for the U.S. [3:45:07] Made in the U.S.A. is a thing again. [3:45:09] We cut all the taxes on tips and overtime and save seniors taxes on Social Security. [3:45:14] I mean, it just goes on and on and on. [3:45:16] And we have a lot that we're very proud of. [3:45:19] Louis, biggest decline in prescription drug costs in 60 years. [3:45:22] I mean, that's because elections have consequences. [3:45:24] That's because we ran on promises and we kept those promises. [3:45:29] And it wasn't enough in this election cycle. [3:45:31] But there's ebbs and flows in politics in America. [3:45:34] It will swing back our way, I think, very quickly because you're going to see the contrast [3:45:38] that we were talking about on the campaign trail, the contrast between common sense and crazy. [3:45:43] And I think you're going to see a crazy set of circumstances and legislative agenda with the Democrats in charge. [3:45:48] What is the election of Jim Jordan, say, about the last week's election? [3:45:55] I think the election of Jim Jordan is a sign of the members' confidence in him. [3:46:00] I mean, both of these candidates got big, big, big packs of support. [3:46:04] But Jim is a known entity, a trusted voice, a trusted leader. [3:46:11] He's an honest broker. [3:46:12] He's a good man. [3:46:12] He's a fighter. [3:46:14] And I think that that's the signal that is being sent here, that we are ready to dig in for the fight. [3:46:20] And I think Jim is going to do a great job with that. [3:46:23] Well, I think the dynamics will be different this time. [3:46:31] I mean, I inherited the gavel in an unprecedented circumstance. [3:46:34] I mean, there had never been a speaker removed from the office mid-Congress in the history of the institution before. [3:46:40] So there was no playbook. [3:46:41] So people ask me all the time, what was it like? [3:46:44] I said, it was like being elected mayor of a town that had been hit by a nuclear bomb, honestly. [3:46:48] Like, you know, and then they go here, congratulations, Mr. Mayor, go get the water running. [3:46:52] Well, wait, the pipes are gone. [3:46:53] You know, I mean, we had to rebuild it. [3:46:55] So my experience was probably different than anybody before. [3:47:00] Jim knows how to do this. [3:47:01] Jim Jordan knows how to do this. [3:47:02] He's been around a long time. [3:47:03] He's been a leader a long time. [3:47:04] He's led caucuses. [3:47:06] He's been a chairman of two major committees, oversight and judiciary. [3:47:10] That would be a particularly helpful experience for him to have in the season that we are about to enter with lawfare on steroids from the Democrats. [3:47:16] I think he's going to do very, very well. [3:47:18] And, you know, he was originally, as I mentioned, one of my mentors when I came to Congress. [3:47:23] So I have high confidence, and he'll be able to do this well. [3:47:26] Did you see Jim Jordan's way, because he was not a member of the committee, as in part a refudiation of your... [3:47:36] No. [3:47:38] Jim and I have been close from the day I got to Congress. [3:47:42] We're one and the same in that regard. [3:47:44] And I used to seek his counsel all the time and then vice versa. [3:47:47] And he was a big part of what we did in the 119th Congress. [3:47:51] We would not have been able to deliver all the wins we did if he and I were not united on that. [3:47:55] So, no, I don't think anybody sees it. [3:47:57] No one in that room sees it that way, nor does he or I. [3:48:00] I'm not going to tell you how I voted. [3:48:01] I told you they're both my brothers. [3:48:03] But I will say Jim's going to do an extraordinary job. [3:48:07] And it just occurred to me. [3:48:10] Now, that's a cry in shame, I'll tell you that. [3:48:12] He says no more Southerners in leadership. [3:48:14] But these are... [3:48:15] It's a good group. [3:48:16] I'm very confident in this leadership group. [3:48:19] I love them all. [3:48:19] We don't see things regionally in our conference. [3:48:22] They're all my dear friends. [3:48:24] And I trust this group. [3:48:26] I think they're going to lead well. [3:48:28] And they're going to show the country that Republicans are going to stand by the core principles of America. [3:48:32] And to me, at the end of this, that's what this is all about. [3:48:35] I mean, we are defending the founding principles of the greatest nation in the history of the world. [3:48:38] And it's not even close. [3:48:39] We're the most free, most successful, most powerful, most benevolent nation that has ever been. [3:48:43] But you cannot take those foundations for granted. [3:48:45] We will not always be the greatest nation if we do not defend those principles that made us who we are. [3:48:50] And I am concerned that in today's Democrat Party, there is a rising number of people who have disdain for the founding principles of America. [3:48:58] And they have a very different idea for what America should be. [3:49:01] And so that is going to be the contest in the days ahead. [3:49:04] Are we going to go down a dark, dangerous road to socialism and communism, which is a deadly road? [3:49:08] Remember, Karl Marx wrote the Communist Manifesto. [3:49:11] He used socialism and communism interchangeably because he said that socialism was a step to get to communism, which he called utopia. [3:49:19] They believed that was the perfect society. [3:49:21] And we know that's a dangerous fool's errand because every single time that's been attempted in history, it has led to human suffering and poverty and misery and even death. [3:49:29] And the communists responsible for the murder of tens of millions of innocent people in the 20th century alone. [3:49:33] It is un-American. [3:49:35] It is anti-American. [3:49:36] And as long as we're here, the Republican Party will stand for what is American. [3:49:40] We're going to defend those principles against anyone who tries to tear them down. [3:49:44] So that's the showdown coming for the 120th Congress. [3:49:47] So buckle up. [3:49:48] Well, look, I think it's a sign of the strength of the candidates. [3:50:02] And I don't think you've read too much into that, but those leaders are tried and tested and true. [3:50:07] And it is my great delight now to yield the podium to your new Republican leader, Mr. Jim Jordan, and the team over here. [3:50:15] Jim, come ahead. [3:50:20] Not at all. [3:50:23] Over the next two years, House Republicans will fight for American families. [3:50:27] When Democrats offer more government, we'll offer more freedom. [3:50:31] And we will bring that fight in committee, on the floor, and on the stump every single day. [3:50:37] I want to thank my colleagues for their support. [3:50:42] And I want to introduce our current whip and next Congress's whip, the gentleman from Minnesota, Mr. Tom Emmer. [3:50:54] Today is not a day for celebrating. [3:50:57] We lost last Tuesday, and I take it personally, as do my colleagues. [3:51:03] I fought for these seats as the NRCC chair and worked like hell to keep them as the majority whip. [3:51:10] We're going to do it again. [3:51:11] Over the next two years, we will regain the trust and confidence of the American people so we can build back our majority in 2028. [3:51:20] To our colleagues on the left, enjoy this honeymoon phase. [3:51:24] Because come January 3rd, 2027, you will regret ever putting your name on a ballot. [3:51:31] House Republicans will hold each and every Democrat accountable for every vote cast, [3:51:36] every committee hearing held, and every sentence set on MSDNC. [3:51:42] This Republican leadership team will expose the Democrats' lies and show the American people their true colors as the radical communists that they are. [3:51:50] We will expose every empty promise that they made to voters. [3:51:54] We will expose Democrats' economic agenda that will make housing, food, gas, and health care more expensive. [3:52:01] We will expose the Democrats' sanctuary state open border policies, all that will make our communities less safe. [3:52:09] Not only will we ensure the American people know who these people really are, [3:52:14] but House Republicans will put forth an agenda that speaks directly to the American people. [3:52:19] Policies that actually lower the price of goods, increase wages, create affordable housing, [3:52:25] and give every American the opportunity to build their American dream. [3:52:30] With this House Republican team, I am confident we will win back the trust and confidence of the American people in short order. [3:52:38] We will undo the damage and chaos caused by these radicals, and we will retake the majority in 2028. [3:52:44] And those of you who are smiling right now, remember we told you this back in 2018, [3:52:49] as we were going into 2019, and nobody thought we could, and we did. [3:52:53] We are going to do it again. [3:52:54] I want to thank my colleagues for trusting me, and I look forward to getting to work with this new leadership team, Jim. [3:53:02] And with that, I turn it over to our current conference chair and incoming conference chair, Lisa McClain from Michigan. [3:53:07] Thank you. [3:53:08] I'm honored that my colleagues have placed their trust in me to continue to serve as the Republican House Conference chair. [3:53:19] I want to take a moment to introduce you to some new faces behind me. [3:53:23] First of all, we have our secretary, Mark Alford. [3:53:26] We have Brian Jack, who will chair the NRCC. [3:53:30] We have Jay Obernolte, who will still be our policy chair. [3:53:34] Blake Moore, who will still continue to serve as my vice chair. [3:53:39] And you all know our current speaker, who we love dearly, Mr. Mike Johnson. [3:53:43] We had a spirited leadership election. [3:53:52] There were important conversations about the future of our conference, and I listened, I heard the concerns raised by members, and I intend to act on them. [3:54:02] Now that the election is behind us, we are one conference, and we have one mission. [3:54:08] To earn back the trust of the American people, and take back this House. [3:54:15] We have seven weeks before the next Congress begins, and we cannot waste one single day. [3:54:22] Democrats may have the majority, but we must, and we will, go on offense day one. [3:54:29] We're going to hold Democrats accountable. [3:54:32] We're going to challenge their policies, and we're going to give American families a compelling reason to put Republicans back in charge. [3:54:43] Democrats have already made their priorities clear. [3:54:46] And it's not affordability. [3:54:48] Remember, that's what they ran on. [3:54:49] The first thing they said was, lawyer up. [3:54:53] Tell me how lawyer and up helps anybody with affordability, right? [3:55:00] Watch their actions, not their words. [3:55:02] They're going to be focused on going after President Trump. [3:55:06] We are going to be focused on improving the quality of life for every American. [3:55:12] We have the opportunity to show the American people what Republicans stand for, what we're fighting for, and why we deserve their trust. [3:55:21] That is our mission, and that work starts today. [3:55:26] Thank you very much. [3:55:27] All right, I'll see you around. [3:56:18] Thank you. [3:56:19] All right, next time. [3:56:31] I got it. [3:56:32] I got it. [3:56:32] So we don't, we broke the...