Mike Johnson says being House speaker is like an ‘F5 hurricane’ in first press conference revealing GOP is ‘nearing’ a decision on Biden’s impeachment and will vote today on sending $14billion in aid to Israel
Speaker Mike Johnson said his new job is “like an F-5 hurricane” as he said the House will move forward with a party-line bailout bill for Israel and will soon decide whether to vote on impeaching President Joe Biden.
When asked how he was adjusting to the new job, the speaker said, “I’m from Louisiana, so I describe everything and even football in hurricane metaphors. Let me just say this looks like an F-5 Hurricane. It was a whirlwind, but again, a great way.”
The new Republican leader said he was “humbled and blessed” to have the support of all his colleagues in the vote on his speaker nomination.
“And we needed that to unite our conference with the energy felt across the country. I have no illusions. It’s not about me. “It’s about this idea that we can unite this team and get this job done for the country,” he continued.
At the same time, he revealed that Biden’s impeachment inquiry would be nearing a decision “very soon.”
Speaker Mike Johnson said his new job is “like an F-5 hurricane” as he said the House will move forward with a party-line bailout bill for Ukraine and will soon decide whether to vote on Trump’s impeachment President Joe Biden.
“As we stand here today, I’m not convinced of that in advance, but I do believe we will come to a decision very soon,” the Louisiana Republican told reporters at his first news conference as speaker.
“Next to a declaration of war, you could argue that this is the strongest power we have and it cannot be used for political purposes,” Johnson said.
James Comer, chairman of the oversight committee, which spearheaded the investigation, said Wednesday that the investigation is now in the “downhill phase” and should be completed soon.
Comer recently touted an image of a $200,000 check that James Biden sent to his brother Joe Biden as a “smoking gun,” but the check was marked as a loan repayment.
The House of Representatives must decide whether or not to vote to impeach the president, as hardline Republicans want, at the risk of creating the impression that they have politicized the process if the evidence is not sufficient.
Meanwhile, Johnson said he plans to bring up a vote on Israeli aid on Wednesday afternoon, even if the payments will kill it on arrival in the Senate.
The bill would provide Israel with $14 billion, with that money recycled from a fund allocated to the IRS under the Inflation Reduction Act passed by Democrats.
“$67 billion is there to refurbish, build and hire new IRS agents and you have to look at the scope and importance of our obligations right now,” Johnson said. “My belief is that this dire situation in Israel is so important.”
He reasoned that the national debt, which stands at $33 trillion, is “the greatest threat to national security” above all else.
When asked how he was adjusting to the new job, the speaker said, “I’m from Louisiana, so I describe everything and even football in hurricane metaphors. Let me just say this looks like an F-5 Hurricane. It was a whirlwind, but again, a great way’
“Ukraine (financing) will come in the short term. We will do that next,” the speaker said, adding that it would involve border security.
Pete Aguilar, chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, has blasted the bill. “They are trying to condition life-saving aid on Israel for the sole purpose of making it easier for billionaires to commit tax fraud.”
“We’re learning a lot about this new speaker this week, with these first legislative acts. And this has been a complete and total disaster,” he added.
Still, it was unclear to him how the government would be financed if a government spending budget dried up in two weeks.
Weeks ago, former Speaker Kevin McCarthy introduced a continuing resolution (CR) to extend government funding for six weeks at 2023 levels as the House of Representatives continued its funding fight.
Johnson said it “remains to be determined” how the government will be funded when that bill expires on November 17.
“Stay tuned,” Johnson told reporters.
He said his original idea was to approve a CR to extend government funding until January 14 and avoid a “congestion” during the holidays.
The House of Representatives has passed eight of 12 single-issue spending bills. After the twelve bills are passed, the country must work with the Democratic-led Senate to craft a negotiated spending path.